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Presidential aspirant Jusuf Kalla (center) with celebrities Anwar Fuadi and Jarwo Kwat (left) raising their hands in the declaration of their support for his candidacy at Kalla’s residence in Jakarta on Wednesday. (Photo: Yudhi Sukma Wijaya, JG)

Celebs Lend Star Power to Kalla As More Groups Support Ticket

A labor union, a celebrity group and youth organizations threw their support behind the candidacy of Jusuf Kalla and his running mate, Wiranto, on Wednesday, the second day of the official presidential campaign period.

Kalla’s campaign team said that the fresh show of support was indicative of the ticket’s growing popularity.

“We see it as the public’s expectation for change and that they see that JK gives them hope,” campaign team chairman Fahmi Idris said, in reference to Vice President Kalla, the chairman of the Golkar Party.

Among the organizations that Fahmi said were supporting Kalla were Indonesian Celebrities for JK-Win, a group comprised of 60 actors that declared its support for Kalla and the former chief of the Indonesian Military, Wiranto, the head of the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura).

Adding a little glamor to the ticket, dubbed JK-Win, they praised Kalla’s quick and efficient approach in solving a number of problems in the country.

Other organizations lining up to back Kalla, who was discarded by incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as his running mate for the July 8 elections, were the All-Indonesian Workers Trade Union (SPSI), the Young Indonesian Clerics Forum and the National Youth Alliance (AMN), which stated that they supported Kalla because he offered solutions to a number of the country’s problems.

The party performed well below internal expectations in April’s legislative elections, with some elements within the party blaming the performance on Kalla, whose personal approval ratings continue to lag far behind Yudhoyono’s, according to recent opinion polls.

Sjukur Sarto, who chairs SPSI, said that Kalla offered his proposals to solve problems faced by the country’s laborers such as the minimum regional wage standards for full-time and temporary workers as well as housing.

“He certainly has a clear plan on these issues. For example, he did not plan to increase the wage standard for laborers but proposed a minimum wage for laborers based on the size of the companies that hire them with the main aim to ensure that laborers get a sufficient wage,” he said.

SPSI deputy chairman Hikayat Atika Karma said his support was also based on the fact that Kalla was one of few government officials who was willing to communicate with workers. “Government officials are generally not cooperative with laborers and workers,” he said.

AMN chairman Sirra Prayuna said the youth group decided to support Kalla because he responded quickly to problems and had the guts to take political risks. “He is able to settle problems faced by the people quickly, accurately and in a balanced way,” he said.

The Urban Poor Consortium, along with victims of the Lapindo mudflow disaster, visited Kalla’s residence on Wednesday. Wardah Hafidz from the UPC said that her organizations was still undecided about whom to support. “We came here to find out his programs. This is a political education for us,” she said.

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