Alfian, Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla is earning praise for a planned Idul Fitri tour of nine provinces, while observers wonder if the Golkar Party chairman is laying the groundwork for a run at the presidency in 2009.
Observers acknowledge it is impossible to know what Kalla is discussing during his high-profile meetings as he makes the rounds of the country. "For all we know he might just be conveying greetings from the President," political scholar Indra J. Piliang told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Political observer Muhammad Qodari said Kalla's visits would have a positive impact on Indonesian politics. "He has made an effort to cool down the political tension which increased during Ramadhan," Qodari told Detik.com online news agency.
On Monday, Kalla organized an open house for the public in his hometown of Makassar in South Sulawesi.
Many people in the province are proud of the sizable number of native sons and daughters, mainly businesspeople, who have succeeded on the national political stage.
Kalla's visit to nine provinces comes after he paid courtesy calls in Jakarta on former presidents and vice presidents over the first two days of Idul Fitri. It is still unclear, however, whether Kalla is acting in his capacity as Vice President or Golkar chairman.
Regarding the visits to former presidents Soeharto, B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri, Indra said they could be seen as smart and effective planning for the presidential election in 2009.
Given the Idul Fitri spirit of forgiving one another, "nobody can refuse visits at the moment", regardless of any suspicion of political interests, he said. "It is exactly the right time to build consolidation among elites for 2009," Indra said.
However, he said, "Polls show Kalla trailing far behind Yudhoyono if the election took place now, and I think Kalla is fully aware of this."
The latest poll by the Indonesian Survey Institute found Yudhoyono still far ahead of Kalla among potential voters. Of 1,300 respondents, 66 percent said they would vote for Yudhoyono, while only 15 percent said they would cast ballots for Kalla. Another 19 percent were undecided.
In contrast to Kalla's rounds, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spent the first day of Idul Fitri on Saturday meeting with regular citizens.
Indra said Kalla's visits had the potential to win him political support from a wide variety of groups.
"By visiting Megawati he could approach nationalist groups and by visiting Gus Dur he could reach Nahdliyin masses," Indra said, referring to members of the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, which was previously led by Gus Dur.
On Tuesday, Kalla is scheduled to visit Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and North Sulawesi provinces, followed by a visit to nearby Gorontalo on Wednesday before flying to Lampung. On Thursday, Kalla will head to South Sumatra and Bengkulu provinces, ending his trip on Friday in West Sumatra.
Indra said time would tell the effects of Kalla's efforts. "We do not now what will happen next."
Nevertheless, Indra does not believe the current actions of Kalla and others politicians will disturb government unity over the next two years.
He said the current situation was different from the last elections in 2004. "The competition was rather secret back then but now it is quite a fair play."