Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Following its recent survey on presidential aspirants, the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) has urged independent candidates with integrity to stand up and be counted lest the future of the country be put at risk.

"We conducted the survey to learn the public's choice of future president at the moment. There will be no future for Indonesia if other presidential candidates don't appear in the run up to the 2014 legislative and presidential elections," LSI executive director Saiful Mujani said in a discussion at the Regional Representatives Council's (DPD) building on Friday.

LSI announced on Thursday that Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chief patron Megawati Sukarnoputri appeared to have garnered the most popularity, outshining other candidates including Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party chief patron Prabowo Subianto and Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.

Sharing a similar view as the LSI, Andrie S. Wijaya, coordinator of the Mining Advocacy Network (JATAM), said that Indonesia needed a leader will no affiliations whatsoever to businesses deemed by environmentalists to have had a hand in environment damage.

"We've recorded some hopefuls involved in either environmentally destructive projects or fishy businesses that lead to environmental damage, for example in mining," Andrie said.

Andrie cited the Lapindo mudflow as an example of "political" environmental destruction that might involve presidential aspirants.