Lee Kim Chew – Indonesia's National Assembly Speaker Amien Rais is riding on a reformist platform in his bid to clinch the country's top job.

He credits President Megawati Sukarnoputri for the country's political stability, but faults her for doing too little to tackle corruption.

Nor has the economy recovered. Rising unemployment is a social time bomb, he warned at a press conference and in his talk at the National University of Singapore last night. "Megawati has not delivered what she promised two years ago," he said.

Only through strong political leadership would Indonesia be able to solve these problems, and he was the right man to do it, he said. "I'm motivated to run for president because I have my own vision as a reformer... I will put the eradication of corruption as my No.1 priority."

He will ask a military man to be his vice-presidential running mate. "We need a strong hand to safeguard territorial integrity. And it's better for the military to be inside rather than outside the power circle. Otherwise, it could be a trouble-maker."

He had wanted Chief Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhyono to be on his ticket, but the general is running for president himself. "I have to find somebody else. Who? That's still a secret."

He is counting heavily on Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Islamic organisation, which boasts of 30 million members, to support him. Dr Amien is also putting out feelers to the other parties. "In the past, I've been called a king-maker. It's about time for me to leave the king-making status to become the king myself."

He concedes that it will be hard to beat Ms Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and Golkar. But the people "are still allergic to Golkar. If Megawati's party and Golkar team up as partners in the election ... it will be a blessing in disguise for me. The duo are not widely accepted".