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From Tennis to Politics, Aburizal Says He’s Fit to Run
Shoeb K. Zainuddin | February 06, 2012

Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie. (Reuters Photo/File) Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie. (Reuters Photo/File)
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Valkyrie
7:58pm Feb 6, 2012

padt...

Nice observation, and I want to say that I was also thinking on similar lines. This guy is brutal and he will NOT hesitate to utilize whatever avenues available to him in order to realize his dreams.

Right now, his problem is really not with the Dems but with the upcoming and threatening Nasdem. The writing is already on the wall for the Dems. They will be a walkover.

It is my greatest desire that he will eventually fall with a BIG thump and everything that he possesses with it.

I'll place my bets with Nasdem anytime.


WebGoogler
6:28pm Feb 6, 2012

No, not him, not again! Wake up my people. Open your eyes and see please. A tax evader and a hypocrite? He is the invincible hand, i.e. 'the mafia', behind gayus case. Just look at his businesses (Lapindo, Newmont, etc). Many are in debt and on the brink of bankruptcy. Based on his past actions, we can safely say that he is irresponsible and not trustworthy. We as a republic are now at the crossroads of history. We need a change of direction. We believe that People Power is the only force capable of cleansing our bumi pertiwi of 'all parasites within'. People Power is the only force capable of putting in place once and for all a just, clean, and competent government that will forever change the direction of this nation. The path toward prosperity and justice for all is in our hands as a people.

padt
4:18pm Feb 6, 2012

Of course Bakrie doesn't want to announce now his cadidacy for the presidential elections. To do so now would put his name fair and square in the public gaze and that's the last thing he wants. Because to do so would mean that up until the election he and his record and everything connected would be scrutinized and open to criticism - and he wants to make sure that possibility is minimized.

By announcing his cadidacy at 'the last moment' - but just with enough time - he will be able to mount a short publicity assault in the very best light and with the most positive slant so as to counteract and minimize the massive amount of critical questioning this man deserves.

I am glad he has said he's in it to win it or not at all and that he wont settle for second place - because I hope his defeat will be massive - and it sends him and his type a message - the Indonesian people people are fed up with rich people who think they can buy them - or in Bakrie's case - walk all over them.


marko1
4:05pm Feb 6, 2012

The message in this statement, This country will never be peaceful if you are not tough in enforcing the law,” he said. “If anybody can do whatever they like, there will be chaos.”

I know the elite do not like the way SBY runs things with no iron fist, even the laws under SBY are not followed as in Yasmin church...It sums it all up...

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Golkar Party chairman and business tycoon Aburizal “Ical” Bakrie knows what it takes to succeed. Not only has he built one of the most powerful business groups in the country, he has emerged as a front-runner for the 2014 presidential election.

Next to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Aburizal may be the most powerful man in Indonesia today. He’s got immense wealth — GlobeAsia magazine put his net worth at $3.8 billion in 2011 — and strong political backing.

He also plays a mean game of tennis, as he demonstrated in two intense sets one recent morning before an interview with the Jakarta Globe. His strong desire to win, as shown on the court, is something that has likewise driven him in Indonesia’s cutthroat political and business arenas.

“I want to show that even at 65, I am not weak,” he said after the game. In the interview, the businessman-turned-politician made no bones about his ambitions — if he runs for the presidency, he aims to win.

“Golkar will only nominate a presidential candidate in 2014,” Aburizal said. “We are not interested in settling for the vice presidency.”

Although the party has not formally announced its presidential candidate, as its chairman, Aburizal is in the driver’s seat.

Aburizal’s statements carry new weight following the release of the latest national survey that puts Golkar ahead of Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in terms of popularity.

The Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) on Sunday released its latest survey on people’s political party preferences.

It put Golkar at 18.9 percent in electability, far ahead of PDI-P and the Democratic Party, with 14.2 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively. It drew from 1,200 respondents surveyed last month across all 33 provinces.

“You see, although Golkar is yet to officially nominate its candidate, no party chairman is as fit as me to run [for president],” said Aburizal, who plays tennis and jogs three times a week, and swims once a week.

But despite his rising political clout, large scandals continue to dog him. Prime among them is the Sidoarjo mudflow in East Java, which was allegedly created by a blowout of a natural gas well drilled by one of his companies. There are also allegations of tax evasion against a number of Bakrie firms.

He has further been criticized for his close ties to former President Suharto, who ruled Indonesia as a military dictator for decades.

As one of the favored members of Suharto’s “Team 10,” which was set up to coordinate purchases of state goods on behalf of ministries, government bodies, state companies and, eventually, the military, Aburizal became exceedingly rich.

Still, Aburizal is confident.

“Just look at the latest surveys,” he said. “Golkar has continued to rise in electability with myself among the top three candidates with Ibu Megawati [Sukarnoputri, PDI-P chairwoman] and Pak Prabowo [Subianto of the Great Indonesia Movement Party, Gerindra]. Only three of us obtained double-digit figures, according to the surveys,” he said.

Asked if his non-Javanese ethnicity might pose a problem, Aburizal, who is originally from Lampung, said he was not concerned.

“Indonesia should not go back to the pre-1928 era,” he said. “When we all swore the Youth Pledge, ethnic groups vowed one nation, one language and one state. Why should we make Java versus non-Java an issue? That’s going backwards.”

Aburizal also reiterated that Golkar, which is part of Yudhoyono’s coalition government, would back the president for the remainder of his second term, dismissing any attempt to depose him before 2014.

“No other political party dares to publicly express that they will support the president until 2014. We are the only party to do that,” he said. “That’s how we show that we are loyal to Pak Yudhoyono.”

“But that does not mean we can’t criticize the government. A good friend is someone who dares to speak up when something is wrong, and pull his or her friend out of the hole,” he added.

Aburizal said that if he were elected, he would revive Suharto’s New Order economic policies. “I hope we return to the Development Trilogy, which is to create stability, equality and economic development. I don’t want the rich getting richer while the poor are getting poorer, worsening disparity,” he said.

But he emphasized that stability was the number one requirement for economic development.

“This country will never be peaceful if you are not tough in enforcing the law,” he said. “If anybody can do whatever they like, there will be chaos.”

Aburizal said that if elected president, he would hope to be able to increase the allocation for programs for poor people from the current Rp 30 trillion to Rp 40 trillion ($3.3 billion to $4.5 billion).

“We have begun these programs through Golkar and Bakrie microfinance,” he said.