VZCZCXRO8441
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #0804/01 1270953
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 070953Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2280
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000804 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP 
NSC FOR E. PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PDEM ID
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR'S INSIGHTS ON POSSIBLE 
RUNNING MATE CHOICE 
 
REF: JAKARTA 779 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a May 5 meeting with DepPol/C, 
Presidential Advisor T.B. Silalahi said President Yudhoyono 
is leaning toward choosing State Minister Hatta Rajasa as his 
vice-presidential running mate.  The President still has not 
made his mind up, however (Yudhoyono has said he will 
announce his decision by May 10).  Silalahi added that the 
President was continuing to work to maintain links with the 
Golkar Party despite his very public break with current VP 
Kalla, the Golkar Chair.  He also offered some ideas on what 
the next Cabinet might look like if Yudhoyono indeed wins 
re-election in July.  END SUMMARY. 
 
STATE MINISTER AS RUNNING MATE CHOICE? 
 
¶2.  (C) Jakarta continues to be abuzz with rumors and reports 
about whom President Yudhohono might choose as his VP running 
mate for the July 8 election.  According to Presidential 
Adviser T.B. Silalahi, Yudhoyono favors his loyal State 
Minister Hatta Rijasa for the spot.  Silalahi told DepPol/C, 
"The decision is in his pocket but SBY could change his mind 
at any time."  Yudhoyono compiled a list of all the possible 
candidates and rated them for loyalty, integrity, capability, 
public support, etc., Silalahi said.  He crossed off all 
names except Hatta's who met "95% of the requirements."  The 
President has announced that he will make public his decision 
by May 10. 
 
¶3.  (C) Yudhoyono believes Hatta is very loyal and honest, 
Silalahi remarked.  With a degree in chemical engineering 
from a top Indonesian university, he served as Minister of 
Research and Technology under former president Megawati and 
is considered very capable.  Hatta also hails from outside 
Java (Palembang, South Sumatra), thus providing a 
counterbalance to Yudhoyono's Javanese background.  While 
Hatta is a member of another political party than the 
President's, he is not beholden to it.  Because Hatta is 
affiliated with a major political party, he brings political 
support with him, however.  His party, PAN (the National 
Mandate Party), has a large following among the country's 30 
million Muhammadiyah members, the country's second largest 
Islamic movement, Silalahi commented. 
 
¶4.  (C) Hatta also has the support of Yudhoyono's closest and 
most trusted adviser, his wife Ani (see more below).  "Madame 
Ani loves him, everyone loves him," Silalahi said.  Another 
factor favoring the 56-year-old Hatta is that he does not 
appear to have ambitions to succeed Yudhoyono, and Yudhoyono 
would prefer to groom his own successor at the end of his 
second term in 2014 (if he indeed wins re-election). 
 
¶5.  (C) Other names are being bandied about.  Per reftels, 
other informed sources have told us that respected economist 
Boediyono (one name), Chairman of the Bank of Indonesia 
(Central Bank) is a leading candidate.  Another brilliant 
technocrat under consideration is Finance Minister Sri 
Mulyani.  However, Silalahi said their lack of a political 
base of support is too large a liability.  We have also heard 
of a number of other names, including Irman Gusman of 
Sumatra, who serves as the deputy of the upper house of 
parliament (DPD). 
 
¶6.  (C) Islamic-leaning notables are also an unlikely choice. 
 Silalahi dismissed Hidayat Nur Wahid, a leader of the 
Islamic-oriented Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and his 
chances of getting the VP running mate nod.  He said this 
would alienate Indonesia's non-Muslim and Chinese minorities, 
a small but very influential segment of Indonesian society. 
SBY is also worried about a possible PKS agenda to institute 
Shariah law, and what this would do to the fabric of 
Indonesia's pluralistic, secular society. 
 
YUDHOYONO'S SPLIT WITH HIS VP 
 
¶7.  (C) Silalahi also commented on Yudhoyono's very public 
break with current VP Jusuf Kalla.  It was at heart "a clash 
of cultures," Silalahi said--the humble, polite Yudhoyono 
from Java island versus the brash Kalla from Sulawesi island. 
 Silalahi described Kalla's failed overtures to Yudhoyono to 
secure a promise that he would repeat as VP running mate.  At 
the final meeting at which Kalla asked outright whether he 
would be on the ticket, Yudhoyono responded by asking Golkar 
(Kalla's party) to submit three names.  Kalla felt humiliated 
 
JAKARTA 00000804  002 OF 002 
 
 
and the next day Kalla announced he would run for President. 
 
¶8.  (C) Silalahi added that the relationship had been full of 
distrust.  Kalla has taken hundreds of decisions without 
consulting SBY or even informing him afterwards.  SBY takes a 
long time to make decisions so ministers went to Kalla for 
quick decisions, some good, some bad, but all without going 
through the chain of command. 
 
¶9.  (C) Also, the President's wife Ani Bambang Yudhoyono has 
always disliked Kalla for his direct style (some contacts 
assert that Kalla is additionally a business competitor with 
Ani's family, which is another reason to dislike him).  Ani 
is very influential, making many of Yudhoyono's decisions, 
Silalahi said.  Ani is one of the few advisors Yudhoyono 
totally trusts.  She is extremely bright and engaging, he 
said.  She also has pedigree of three generations of 
decorated military officers.  She is an active supporter of 
many women's and children's organizations.  Silalahi said Ani 
is among those who Yudhoyono and his inner circle are 
considering as presidential timber in 2014. 
 
STILL TRYING TO WORK WITH GOLKAR 
 
¶10.  (C) The President is also trying to mend fences with 
elements of the influential Golkar Party.  Yudyoyono is still 
seeking to restore the coalition with Golkar, Silalahi 
emphasized, but it is too late for Golkar to get the VP 
running mate slot even if Golkar rejects Kalla's move to 
break away from Yudhoyono.  Besides, none of the Golkar 
candidates come close to meeting Yudhoyono's standards. 
Yudhoyono is fond of People's Welfare Minister Aburizal 
Bakrie, but the Lapindo mud volcano fiasco that his company 
caused in East Java carries too much political baggage.  The 
Sultan of Yogyakarta is not at all popular outside Central 
Java, Silalahi said. 
 
THE NEXT CABINET IF YUDHOYONO WINS 
 
¶11.  (C) Silalahi also speculated about the next Cabinet 
(assuming that Yudhoyono wins re-election).  Asked whether it 
was Yudhoyono's desire to have fewer political and more 
technocratic-type ministers, Silalahi said only to a certain 
extent was this even feasible.  SBY has no choice but to let 
parties choose some Cabinet positions as part of coalition 
horse trading.  He cannot tell other political party leaders 
who they can pick for posts.  Parties are going to choose 
their most loyal members for Cabinet.  He said about half the 
new Cabinet's posts would be awarded on merit, half on 
political patronage. 
 
¶12.  (C) Silalahi outlined what he said were Yudhoyono's 
priorities if elected to a second five-year term: 
-- Economic growth 
-- Good relations with other countries, particularly the U.S. 
-- Anti-corruption 
-- Fighting terrorism 
HUME