Robert Go, Jakarta – The two generals who will run in July's presidential election both have strong leadership skills, but the question is – are they both good for business in Indonesia? Mr Anton Supit hesitated a moment when asked to define how former armed forces chief Wiranto and ex-security czar Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono were different.
"Wiranto has more problems related to his military ties and his human rights track record," the chairman of footwear producers group Aprisindo finally answered.
Other members of the business community here similarly worry about how foreign governments, and more crucially investors, would accept a Wiranto presidency.
Foreign governments have been careful to reserve comment on the Golkar party's choice of General Wiranto to top its presidential ticket this week.
But there are concerns about the role he may have played in the militia rampage that torched much of East Timor after the territory decided to separate from Indonesia in 1999.
Mr Supit explained: "This country desperately needs more investments and jobs. Perhaps foreign investors won't care about Wiranto's human rights baggage. But what if they do?" The perception gap also affects domestic issues.
Many businessmen used "reformist" or "benevolent" to describe SBY, as Mr Bambang is popularly known. But they came up with "old guard" and "traditionalist" as they spoke about perceptions of Gen Wiranto.
A stockbroker, who declined to be named, bluntly said: "I am scared at the prospects of Wiranto leading the country. There are just too many associations with the military and the Suharto era. He might turn the clock backward and undo reforms that have taken place in recent years."
Candidates' choices of running mates, however, are also factoring in tycoons' equations. Those interviewed by The Straits Times said the next vice-president should have a firm economics background or proven experience in running companies. And the SBY nod to Mr Jusuf Kalla, a rich businessman who quit his Cabinet post as Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare last week, is striking the right chord.
Property developer Harun Hajadi said: "There is a buzz about SBY and Kalla. If you think about it, they're the ones who have really run the country and helped stabilise the economy since a few years ago."
The tycoons are not so hot about Gen Wiranto's rumoured preferences for vice-presidential candidates. Right now, he is said to be talking with Muslim figures Hidayat Nur Wahid of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and Solahuddin Wahid, a brother of former president Abdurrahman Wahid.
Mr Kustarjono Prodjolalito, secretary-general of synthetic fibre producers association Apsyfi, argued that Gen Wiranto could improve his chances with the business community if he tapped someone similar to Mr Jusuf as his number two.
"We need a vice-president who knows what the economy is about, someone who could focus on getting the economy moving forward again," he said.