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Kalla: time for president from outside Java Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA News) - Presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla said here on Saturday that it was time now for the country to have a president from outside Java. He said the presidential election on July 8 this year would be the momentum for proving that all citizens had a right to become president. "Presidents must not always come from Java. It is time now for the nation to make a change," he said before thousands of supporters in a campaign rally. He reiterated that the JK (Jusuf Kalla)-Wiranto (Win) ticket was an archipelagic pair. "It is not impossible that a Papuan will be a presidenial or vice presidential candidate later," he said. He said the presidential election on July 8 would be an opportunity for a man from outside Java to become a president. "This is the time for a president from the eastern region. Leaders are no longer determined upon their birthplace but upon their capability and leadership," he said. On the occasion Kalla who hails from South Sulawesi pledged he would release the Papuans from isolation if he wins the presidential race and also maintain harmony in the relationship among the people in the country by promoting the welfare of all people. "I will develop Trans-Papua road network that will connect regions in the province that have so far been accessible only by plane. This is the time for Papua to be free from isolation and poverty," he said. Kalla in his campaign in Riau on Saturday also said that anyone, regardless of whether he/she came from Java or outside Java could become a presidential or a vice presidential candidate as long as he or she met the requirements. Of the six Indonesian presidents so far only BJ Habibie was not from Java.(*) COPYRIGHT C 2009 ANTARA PubDate: 06/20/09 20:50 ---------- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.374 / Virus Database: 270.12.83/2191 - Release Date: 06/21/09 05:53:00 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
