TNI Chief Reluctant to Comment on Vice Presidential Candidacy

Mataram, W Nusa Tenggara (Antara) - National Defense Forces (TNI) chief General Moeldoko refused to comment on a discourse calling on him to be the running mate of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP)'s presidential candidate Joko Widodo. "I do not want to answer because I cannot answer whether to accept it (the offer). If I don't accept it, I will be considered arrogant. Let's forget it," Moeldoko said, following a meeting at the Mataram Institute of Pedagogy (IKIP) here on Monday. Moeldoko said he will focus on his duties as the TNI chief. "I am focusing on how to develop the TNI into a professional force, which is respected by other countries," he noted. Asked what he thought of an ideal presidential candidate for the coming election, he declined to comment. "I don't want to comment on that. I am focusing on my duties. I don't want the people to get confused with a long story that may turn into a polemic. I don't want to become a target of polemics. Don't pressure me into answering it," he said. Chief of the PDIP's central executive board Puan Maharani announced Jokowi's candidacy for the presidency at the office of the party's central executive board here on March 14. Puan said PDIP's general chief Megawati Soekarnoputri decided to nominate Jokowi for the presidency in accordance with the party's articles of association and the result of the party's congress held in Bali in 2010. (*) Reporting by Anwar Maga