Anita Rachman, Camelia Pasandaran & Ezra Sihite – Taufik Kiemas's controversial comments on Monday that his wife, former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, should reconsider any plan to run given that she would be 68 in 2014, continued to spur debate on Tuesday.

House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie said he welcomed young presidential candidates. Marzuki's party, the Democratic Party, doesn't have a forerunner in the presidential race yet as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is no longer eligible to run.

"If we prepare younger members in the next three years, one of them will certainly emerge. The older members must give way," Taufik had said.

Taufik declined to name any potential young Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) candidates, nor did he say whether his daughter, Puan Maharani, 38, would be among those groomed for the role.

But Puan said she was ready to run for president. "I'm ready to be assigned to any position, especially if it is mandated by the party," she said. "My grandfather was president, my mother was also president, and hopefully in 2014 we can win."

PDI-P politician Pramono Anung, however, said Taufik did not speak for the party. "I can understand what Taufik was saying. This is the dynamic of democracy. But don't judge someone by their age," he said.

Political analysts are not convinced either that Puan would be the best option for the PDI-P.

Puan might be supported by her father, Taufik, but Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a researcher from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), believes she does not possess her mother's charisma and experience. "[Former president] Sukarno had several children," he said. "But only Megawati inherited the charm and charisma to lead."

Burhanuddin added that the LSI had often included Puan's name in polls, but she had never made it close to the support gathered by her mother. "Her popularity is far below her mother in several surveys conducted," Burhanuddin said. "There are even people who do not know who she is."

In a survey conducted by the Reform Institute, released on Tuesday, Puan received just 3.78 percent approval in the survey, while Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, also considered a young potential leader, got 3.33 percent.

Moreover, Burhanuddin said Taufik's effort to push Puan to replace her mother to contest the upcoming election would only fracture the party. "There are several groups in the party," Burhanuddin said. "She doesn't have the capability to unite them."