Jusuf Kalla Didaulat sebagai Capres oleh Nasdem. "Kehormatan bagi Saya"
Jusuf Kalla as Presidential Candidate by Nasdem. "Would be an Honor"
Reporter : Rizki Saleh
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
Jakarta (B2B) - Kehadiran mantan Ketua Umum Partai Golkar, Jusuf Kalla dalam Rapat Kerja Nasional (Rakernas) I Partai NasDem memunculkan spekulasi akan ada pinangan dari partai yang dikomandoi Surya Paloh tersebut, bahkan Kalla mengisyaratkan tak menolak bila ada pinangan itu untuk maju dalam Pemilu 2014.
"Setiap dukungan seperti itu (pinangan), bagi saya sebuah kehormatan dan saya ucapkan terima kasih. Kita tentu apresiasi juga," kata Kalla ketika dijumpai sesaat sebelum menyampaikan pandangannya di hadapan ribuan kader Partai NasDem di Ancol, Jakarta Utara, Senin (2/12).
Mantan Wakil Presiden ini menjadi pembicara dalam Rakernas I Partai NasDem yang bertema Restorasi Kehidupan Kenegaraan; Kepemimpinan Nasional dalam Menyelesaikan Permasalahan Bangsa. Dengan ucapan terimakasih yang disampaikannya tersebut, JK sekaligus menyiratkan tidak menolak jika ternyata digadang Partai NasDem untuk menjadi Capres/Cawapres.
"Kalau berterima kasih, berarti saya tidak mengatakan tidak kan," ucap Kalla.
Hanya saja ia menegaskan untuk membicarakan kemungkinan capres/cawapres, semua partai politik tentu masih menunggu Pemilihan Legislatif 2014. Jika hasil pileg sudah diketahui, baru Parpol bisa berbicara banyak.
"Pinangannya itu soal lain lagi. Biasanya setelah Pileg. Kalau kendaraannya itu, baru formal sehabis pileg. Kita tidak takut kalau sudah ada partai lain yang menyiapkan capresnya, yang penting berbuat sesuatu yang terbaik untuk bangsa," jelasnya.
Terkait ketidakhadirannya dalam Rapimnas Golkar beberapa waktu lalu, JK mengatakan acara Rapimnas bersamaan dengan kegiatan PMI, sehingga dirinya tak bisa meninggalkan kegiatan PMI tersebut.
Sementara kedatangannya ke Rakernas I Partai NasDem lantaran undangan untuk menjadi pembicara. "Kalau diundang untuk berbicara, saya harus hadir. Jangan lupa, setiap ada acara NasDem saya selalu mendapat kehormatan berbicara. Waktu deklarasi NasDem juga malah saya justru yang bicara panjang juga," ujar JK.
Jakarta (B2B) - Former Indonesian Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla has indicated that he will not oppose being nominated as a presidential candidate by the National Democratic (Nasdem) Party, sparking speculation that he could become the partys official candidate for the presidential election next year.
"To me, a nomination would be an honor that I would be thankful for," he said in a speech to thousands of Nasdem party members at a national working meeting here on Monday.
Jusuf Kalla lost the last presidential election to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The former general chairman of the Golkar Party was invited as a speaker to the first Nasdem national working meeting held under the theme of "Restoring Statehood: National Leadership to Settle National Problems."
"When I say thank you, it means that I will not reject a nomination," he added.
He noted that every political party will have to wait for the results of the legislative elections in April before taking a final decision on their presidential candidate.
"A nomination will only be made after the legislative elections. That is how the process will proceed formally. It does not bother us that other parties have already chosen their candidates. What is important to us is the national interest," he added.
When asked about his absence at a recent Golkar party leadership meeting, Kalla said that he did not attend because he had a prior engagement with the PMI, the Indonesian Red Cross, on that day.
On the subject of attending Nasdems working meeting on Monday, Kalla pointed out that he had been invited to attend as a speaker. "I was invited as a speaker, so I had to attend. I have always felt it is an honor to attend any Nasdem function. Even during the launch of Nasdem, I was a speaker," he added.
