SP/Anastasia Winanti – Prabowo Subianto is moving quickly in the race toward the 2014 presidential election. After establishing the Sumitro Djojohadikusomo Center for Emerging Economies in Southeast Asia in Washington, D.C., he is now embracing Christian communities across the country through Kristen Indonesia Raya (Christians of Great Indonesia), a religious wing of his Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) that will channel the political aspirations of Christians.

Kristen Indonesia Raya, or KIRA for short, has 336 branches across the archipelago and Prabowo said he would establish at least 120 more on the provincial level to embrace Christians who need political vehicles to channel their aspirations, according to KIRA chairman Murphy Hutagalung.

Prabowo has previously said that in the future no Indonesians, no matter their religion, will feel like they are in the minority in this country – that is, if Prabowo becomes president.

Prior to establishing KIRA, Prabowo created GEMIRA, the Muslims of Great Indonesia Movement, and Gema Sadhana the Indonesian Sanatha Darma Movement.

Murphy said he hoped at least 60 percent of the 25 million Christians in Indonesia would join forces with KIRA because there they have the right vehicle to pursue their political aspirations.

KIRA is trying to embrace leaders from the Union of Indonesian Churches, the Union of Pentecostal Churches, Union of Evangelical Institutions, the Orthodox Church and the Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Churches are usually not interested in getting involved in politics though some Christian leaders may be tempted to join Prabowo, analysts said.

Personally, Prabowo's family members come from different religious backgrounds. His younger brother, the noted businessman Hashim Djojohadikusumo, is a devout Christian. Likewise, his brothers-in-law Didier Lemaistre, a French national who once worked for the Lippo Group, is a Christian while Soedradjad Djiwandono, former governor of Bank Indonesia, is a Catholic.

Prabowo's image has improved markedly in recent months, after he delivered a lecture at Rajaratnam School of Strategic Studies at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore in fluent English.

The Wall Street Journal, which reported this immediately afterwards, added weight to Prabowo's performance in a manner that surprised many political observers.

In recent months Prabowo has topped the list of potential presidential candidates, according to surveys by various polling agencies.

But a great number of Indonesians still remember the black pages of his track record, including his alleged involvement in the disappearance of several political activists in the 1990s and other alleged human rights violations.

Whether such allegations will influence voters' perceptions remains to be seen. But Prabowo appears to be moving forward with his eyes fixed on the presidential chair.