Pramono E Wibowo Says He Will Continue SBY's Programs

Ambon, Maluku (Antara) - Former army chief of staff, General Pramono Edhie Wibowo, said if he is elected president he will continue President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's programs. "If I am elected president for the 2014-2019 period, certainly I will continue all the programs that have been started and are still being implemented by SBY (President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) because they are, indeed, good," he said during a meeting with fishermen and small and medium business people in Galala and Hatiwe Kecil villages in Ambon, Maluku, on Saturday. He added that he and SBY were both from the Democrat Party and the government programs were discussed by party members before being enacted. "So, if I passed the convention and would later be elected President, it would be good for me to continue SBY's programs and also improve them," he said. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, who is also President Yudhoyono's brother in law, expressed his readiness to participate in the ruling Democrat Party's convention and "compete professionally with 10 other participants." Regarding Ambon, Pramono Edhie said he had seen no traces of burned buildings left from the humanitarian tragedy in 1999, while traveling from Pattimura airport to Hatiwe Kecil village. "I did not mean to revive the painful tragedy, but the development was proof that people have been aware of the importance of peace," he said. (*)