Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Vice President and Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla has called on his supporters to calm down, amid mounting calls for him to declare his presidential bid.
Kalla said he would stick to the party's policy of selecting a presidential candidate based on an internal survey now underway.
"It has been decided that the [presidential] candidate will be announced after the legislative elections, so let's focus on winning the legislative elections in April," he said Friday.
The heads of Golkar's provincial branches, mainly from Sulawesi, have called on the party to bring forward a national meeting to name the party's presidential candidate before April.
They said the survey was unnecessary because Kalla, as party chairman, deserved the nod.
As though hinting at his presidential bid, Kalla held a rare meeting Friday with Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) co-founder and People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid.
But when asked if the encounter was to pave the way for a coalition, Kalla said, "No, I was just meeting an old friend. I think it's just natural."
Kalla is slated to visit his hometown of Makassar on Saturday for a Golkar meeting. About 5,000 party members, including Golkar heads at subdistrict and village level from across South Sulawesi, will attend the meeting.
South Sulawesi is a major Golkar stronghold, but crucially lost the gubernatorial election to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) last year.
Kalla unveiled his readiness last week to run in the presidential race after all 33 heads of Golkar's provincial branches expressed their support for him.
"The provincial branches form the majority in the decision-making process in Golkar's congress," Kalla said.
He also played down a split among Golkar supporters about his candidacy, saying it was part of democracy. "But there is no factionalism [in Golkar]. Difference of opinion is part of democracy in the party," he said.
Kalla is widely considered to have the competence to contest the presidential election, but opinion polls consistently rank him below other contenders, including widely respected fellow Golkar stalwart and Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.
Most polls indicate Kalla would be far better suited as vice president.
The latest survey conducted by the Indonesia Survey Institute (LSI) revealed only 2 percent of 2,455 respondents would vote for Kalla for president if the election were held today.
The LSI survey placed Kalla eighth on the list of popular presidential candidates, below Hamengkubuwono, former MPR speaker Amin Rais and Hidayat.
In December, the National Survey Institute (LSN) found Hamengkubuwono was the most popular Golkar figure vying for the presidency, eclipsing second-ranked Kalla, former Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung and senior party adviser and media tycoon Surya Paloh.