VZCZCXRO7843
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #0154/01 0291055
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 291055Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1338
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5880
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2640
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3000
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000154 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP; NSC FOR E. PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PDEM ID
SUBJECT: FORMER PRESIDENT MEGAWATI CONSIDERS SULTAN AS 
RUNNING MATE 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 0024 
     ¶B. 08 JAKARTA 1195 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  The opposition Indonesian Democratic Party 
of Struggle (PDI-P) just finished its national conference. 
The key topic on the agenda was the party's choice for vice 
presidential candidate for the July presidential election. 
Most party regulars seem to agree that the Sultan of 
Yogyakarta would be a good choice, though some other names 
were mentioned.  Party leader and former president Megawati 
will make the final decision.  PDI-P--running on a populist 
program--continues to do well in the polls ahead of the April 
legislative election.  END SUMMARY. 
 
CONFERENCE IN SOLO 
 
¶2.  (U) Indonesia's major opposition party, PDI-P, has just 
concluded its national conference.  The annual meeting took 
place in Solo, Central Java, January 27-28.  PDI-P 
representatives from throughout the country participated. 
The meeting was focused on mobilizing the party ahead of the 
April parliamentary election and the July presidential 
election.  POL FSN attended the conference as an observer. 
 
¶3.  (U) In her remarks opening the conference, former 
president and PDI-P presidential candidate Megawati 
Sukarnoputri lashed out at the government for not (she said) 
doing enough to help the poor -- "The government's failure is 
due to policy choices that do not support the people."  Tying 
the campaign to economic issues, she said PDI-P needed to 
support poverty alleviation and job creation as the way 
forward. 
 
SULTAN TOPS VP LIST 
 
¶4.  (C) The major focus of the conference was choosing a vice 
presidential candidate.  Topping the shortlist (and winning a 
straw poll) was Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, the Governor of 
Yogyakarta District.  A member of the Golkar Party, the 
Sultan is also running for President, but has not secured the 
backing of his own party for the nomination.  While not 
considered particularly charismatic, he is a popular figure 
in Yogyakarta and in some parts of Java Island.  His approach 
to politics is secularist, similar to PDI-P's.  He has not 
indicated whether he would accept an offer to run for vice 
president (and thus end his presidential campaign).  He did 
attend the conference and held several closed door meetings 
with Megawati. 
 
¶5.  (U) Also on the shortlist (and finishing second in the 
straw poll) was Gerindra Party founder Prabowo Subianto, a 
former general.  PDI-P delegates also considered the 
qualifications of People's Consultative Assembly Chair and 
Prosperous Justice Party leader (PKS) Hidayat Nur Wahid, 
Golkar Party member Surya Paloh, and former Golkar chair 
Akbar Tandjung. 
 
MEGAWATI WILL CHOOSE 
 
¶6.  (C) Megawati will choose the VP candidate.  The exact 
timetable for her decision is not known, but it may happen 
before the April 9 legislative elections.  For her part, 
Megawati is believed to like the Sultan as a choice, seeing 
him as an effective vote-getter in the Java region (the most 
populous region of the country).  Her influential husband, 
Taufik Kiemas, also is said to support the choice of the 
Sultan.  It is still not clear, however, if the Sultan would 
accept an offer as vice presidential candidate since he has 
presidential aspirations. 
 
PDI-P LOOKS TO BE IN GOOD POSITION 
 
¶7.  (C) Although it runs closely with the President's 
Democrat Party (PD) in recent surveys (see reftels), PDI-P 
remains a strong contender to finish first in the April 
elections.  The party is well organized, has many cadre, and 
has funding for TV ads.  Most contacts agree that the Sultan 
would make a solid pick for Megawati for VP, helping her in 
the Java region.  In 2004, commentators felt that Megawati's 
choice for VP, Hashim Muzadi, the head of mainstream Muslim 
organization Nahdlatul Ulama, was not an effective candidate 
and hurt her re-election effort.  Megawati, if she is to beat 
 
JAKARTA 00000154  002 OF 002 
 
 
the relatively popular President Yudhoyono, needs to make a 
strong choice this time around. 
HUME