Febriamy Hutapea – If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono could very well be thanking Surya Paloh. But probably not.

The country has hundreds of political parties, many of which are splinter groups, and there are only so many official colors and names to go around. However, journalists gathered on Monday at the official launch of what many believe will be Surya's new political vehicle, the National Democrats, could not help but notice the similarities to Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

There is the name, of course, but it is the blue, almost identical blazers that had most talking. Democratic Party deputy chairman Ahmad Mubarok did not seem bothered, though, saying he viewed the National Democrats as a continuation of the Democrats because they shared a similar vision.

"They [the Nationalist Democrats] use a darker blue, and we use a lighter blue," Mubarok told the Jakarta Globe. "But we have similar visions for the nation. So we don't mind." He reiterated that the Democrats did not feel threatened. "Competition is a good thing," he said.

Meutya Hafid, who chairs the new party's steering committee, said the organization's color and logo had been selected by Surya himself. The logo is both blue and yellow, which observers say represent, respectively, the Democrats and the Golkar Party, Surya's former party.]