"I ask Golkar party executives not to take part in the present discourses on presidential and vice presidential candidates at least until 2012," Akbar Tanjung said here on Wednesday.
Akbar said if issues surrounding presidential and vice presidential candidates continued to be discussed in public , it would affect the existence and solidarity of the Joint Secretariat (Setgab) of the pro-government parties.
He said that in reality the Joint Secretariat was a discussion forum for the pro-government parties where they could provide inputs and encouragement to the government to adopt policies to maintain stability and efficiency.
"Golkar and other political parties have agreed to unite in the coalition to support the government," Akbar said, adding that the government at present was still concentrating on implementing various programs and policies to fulfill the people`s political mandate.
The former House speaker said the government at present still had a lot of problems that should be solved with the support of a number of political parties.
"The problems are among others poverty and unemployment," Akbar Tanjung said.
Although the government in the past five years had been able to reduce poverty and unemployment, Akbar said there were still 30 million poor people in Indonesia.
He was of the opinion there were still great imbalances such as in education and social welfare in Indonesia.
Therefore he asked Golkar and other pro-government parties to remain focused on the government`s political agenda instead of talking about presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Akbar, a former Golkar Party chairman, said the right time to talk about presidential and vice presidential candidates was early 2013.
"It is too early now to talk about presidential and vice presidential candidates," Akbar Tanjung said.
(Uu.O001/HAJM/F001/P003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
