Muninggar Sri Saraswati – It has been more than a decade since Suharto relinquished power, yet some political parties are still seeking political points through connections to the late former president, including the Indonesian Youth Party, which on Sunday named Suharto's grandson, Ari Sigit, one of its possible presidential candidates.

The new party, or PPI, said Ari, 38, had been nominated by party branches around the country.

"Ari Haryo Sigit, or Sri Sigit, will be the latest addition to our list of presidential candidates," said Akhmad Mujiyanto, party campaign team secretary.

Ari is not a member of any party, and none of the party's other possible presidential nominees belong to the PPI.

Ari was not on a previous list of 10 presidential candidates the party released last month. The party's national working meeting on Sunday aimed to arrive at a shortlist from the 10 names, but failed to do so.

Niko Silitonga, the party secretary general, explained that Ari represented his grandfather, who was able to bring a stable government to the country. "[The government of] Pak 'Harto was stable, while the current government is still shaky," he said, using a term of endearment for the former president's rule. "Upper-class people would not know the difference, but common people notice it. They think that life was better in the past."

In listing Ari among its presidential candidates, the PPI was accommodating the wishes of common people, Niko said, adding that Ari was considered to be a skillful leader in his own right.

Other presidential candidates on the party's list include President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono; Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X; former Army Special Forces chief and former son-in-law of Suharto, Prabowo Subianto; entrepreneur Sandiago Uno; and Bengkulu Governor Agus Rin.

Ahmad said the PPI expected to garner 7 percent to 8 percent of the votes in the April 9 legislative elections.

In the 2004 elections, the Justice and United Indonesia Party, or PKPI, named Suharto's daughter, Siti Hardiyanti "Tutut" Rukmana, as its presidential candidate.

However, not all parties are enchanted by the Suharto name. The Crescent Star Party, or PBB, said it was scared to nominate someone from the former dictator's family.

"That would be terrifying. As we can see, some political parties that had close relations with the Suharto family lost in the [2004] elections," said Ahmad Sumargono, who chairs the PBB's Jakarta branch.

He added that many Indonesians are aware that Suharto's New Order government has a tainted record.