Five Facts on Indonesia's Jusuf Kalla

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla will run against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and former President Megawati Sukarnoputri in an election on July 8.

The poll line-up was finalised after a deadline to register expired on Saturday and Kalla, whose running mate is former general Wiranto, is currently lagging in the polls.

Here are five facts about Kalla:

- Kalla, 67, was born in South Sulawesi and is from a successful business family with interests ranging from construction to real estate. His family still runs heavy industry and manufacturing firm Bukaka Teknik Utama. In 2007, Globe Asia estimated his wealth to be $125 million.

- In 1999, Kalla served as trade minister under President Abdurrahman Wahid, but was fired over corruption allegations. Kalla denied the charges and challenged Wahid to produce evidence. In 2002, President Megawati Sukarnoputri appointed him welfare minister, but in 2004 Kalla contested and won the vice presidency after teaming up with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

- A seasoned politician, Kalla became chair of Golkar, former President Suharto's political machine, in 2004 after a bruising internal battle. Known to be decisive and unwavering, he is also a good political networker and helped to drive through parliament some unpopular government polices. But his outspoken nature has meant his relationship with Yudhoyono soured during the administration.

- Kalla is regarded as a skilled negotiator credited with helping end religious bloodshed in Poso, Central Sulawesi, and negotiating peace to conflicts in Ambon, Maluku and North Sumatra's Aceh province. But he has at times appeared frustrated that Yudhoyono often received more credit for the peace deals.

- His personal approval rating languishes at about 2 percent, while Kalla's diminutive physique, distinctive moustache and formidable wealth make him an easy target for satirists. The fact he is not Javanese is also seen as a drag on his presidential ambitions, which if they fail could leave him vulnerable to a Golkar leadership challenge later this year

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Five Facts on Indonesian President Yudhoyono

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is favourite to win a second term in office in July, helped by the resilient performance of Southeast Asia's largest economy during the global crisis.

The poll line-up was finalised after a deadline to register expired on Saturday and Yudhoyono, whose running mate is central bank governor Boediono, faces a challenge from his vice president, Jusuf Kalla, and former President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Here are five facts about Yudhoyono.

- Yudhoyono, 59, was born in Pacitan, East Java. He was brought up in a devout Muslim household and his father was a soldier who encouraged his military ambitions. He graduated top of class in 1973 at the military academy. The former general went on to serve in the army for 27 years under former strongman President Suharto. While contemporaries suffered from charges of human rights violations, Yudhoyono was widely seen as clean.

- In addition to his military experience, Yudhoyono has a strong academic background and completed a masters in management in the United States in 1991. He also has a doctorate in agricultural economics, and has authored a number of books.

- Despite climbing up the military ladder, his public prominence came only after Suharto was pressured from office in 1998. He became oil minister and as security minister under former President Megawati was credited with tackling the threat posed by militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI). In 2004, he ran against Megawati in Indonesia's first direct elections for president -- and won, with just over 60 percent of the vote. He is now Indonesia's longest-serving president since the ouster of Suharto, and has presided over one of its best economic performances.

- His well-known penchant for a deliberate, cautious and slow approach -- others call it indecisiveness -- has been criticised and some say he often relied too much on his vice president, Kalla, to make tough decisions in his first term. But others argue it is part of his style to let his senior people be in front on policy, but when the crunch comes and his active support is critical, as in selling a 2005 peace deal in Aceh to the public and parliament, he gives it.

- He has pressed hard on corruption and during his term the anti-corruption commission has arrested some high-profile officials. Although graft remains a big problem, the progress under his administration has meant the issue has barely been brought up by his opponents. His government also reached an important peace agreement in troubled Aceh province, on the tip of Sumatra, as well as in Poso, Central Sulawesi. Yudhoyono is well ahead of his rivals in the opinion polls with 67 percent saying they would vote for him as president, against 12 percent for Megawati and 2 percent for Kalla in a recent poll.

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Indonesia's Central Bank Cut Interest Rates

Indonesia's central bank cut interest rates by a widely expected 25 basis points, but flagged concerns about potential inflation pressures in 2010 which some analysts said suggested it was done cutting rates.

Still, Bank Indonesia maintained its growth and inflation forecasts for 2009, indicating to other analysts that it still had time to cut rates further to support ailing growth and spur bank lending

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Five Facts on Indonesia's Megawati Sukarnoputri

Former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri will run against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla in elections in July.

The poll line-up was finalised after a deadline to register expired on Saturday and Megawati, who is teaming up with former general Prabowo Subianto, is currently running behind Yudhoyono in the opinion polls.

Here are five facts on Megawati.

- Megawati, 62, is the daughter of Indonesia's charismatic first president, Sukarno. Her unparalleled political pedigree has ensured strong support, particularly in Java and Bali, although she lacks her father's oratory skills and tends to be rather aloof and avoid public speeches.

-She became a symbol of popular resistance in the dying days of Suharto's presidency, but even though her PDI-P party won the most votes in the 1999 election, Megawati was outmanoeuvred by Abdurrahman Wahid and ended up as his vice president. When Wahid was ousted in 2001, she took over the presidency, but her lacklustre performance on the economy and tackling graft is considered to have lost her the 2004 election to Yudhoyono.

- Megawati has gradually turned the PDI-P party into a family empire. One close adviser is her third husband, Taufiq Kiemas, a wealthy businessman who was recently hospitalised for exhaustion. During her presidency, he negotiated a natural gas contract with China that many Indonesians considered disadvantageous to the national interest.

Indonesian media have reported that Megawati' s daughter, Puan Maharani, is now being groomed as her successor.

- Megawati holds a firm secular, pluralist stance, which has distanced her from some of the Islamic and Islamist parties. She and PDI-P opposed last year's anti-pornography law on the grounds that it discriminated against minorities. A staunch nationalist who supports the military, Megawati has said she thinks regional autonomy has gone too far and could well try to claw back some of the power given to the provinces if she became president again.

- Even if she loses the election -- and an opinion poll put her well behind Yudhoyono at 12 percent to his 67 percent -- Megawati has proposed a coalition with former President Suharto's political machine, Golkar, along with minor parties that could form a formidable opposition bloc in parliament. Her relations with Yudhoyono remain notoriously cool after she is reported to have never forgiven him for leaving her cabinet to run against her, but her PDI-P party has also held talks with the his Democrat Party on possible collaboration.

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10 Tips Finding and Keeping Love Relationships

1. Do not fall in love with someone who is very potential. Too many men and women who choose to stay in a friend or relationship with the expectation that others will change. Honest and be yourself and ask: "Can I love this person with the actual way in which they are now without hope for change?" if not, find another.
   


2. Do not confuse lust. In the sense that in a hurry, people do sexual akan create an intimacy that is wrong, will go to the disappointment. Give a little time to create a genuine emotional connection and let the full sexual passion grow.
   


3. Do not ignore the desperation to have a relationship. For example, if he makes a statement like "I do not correctly implement the commitment," To Believe him. Ask the self, "Is this person prepared to be emotionally and situsioanal?" (People tend to spend the time to hobinya and new partner).
   


4. Do not think your friend is "physically" knowing what you want and need. Responsible for the feelings of each other and you need one another. This will avoid conflict and emotional relationship between you in that.
   


5. Accept your partner is. When the pair entered the honeymoon phase, they are often satisfied with one another. Continue to do romantic things with one another in every relationship, not only in the initial stage. For example, make a "date night" once a week.
   


6. Be sympathetic to your partner. Take some time and plan your note to understand your partner's imagination. Agree and understand your feelings does not mean you have to agree with them. If this does not mean you have to submit on your own needs. Often, the feelings will mean more to you than a pair or the right wins the race.
   


7. Focus on what you like from your partner and what they have done with it instead of their error.
   


8. Inamorato your back. People who love you back. You will not be involved with someone who will love you.
   


9. You feel you do not run over eggshell. If you have a strong feeling in your stomach, it is not love, but you try to get approval.
   


10. A healthy relationship will improve self-esteem.To obtain a harmonious relationship, each pair will need to expose themselves. A healthy relationship when the two couples to feel safe to express themselves to the actual individual.

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Four For A Sign of Love

You can find someone who really is best suited to be a pair of life and even have more than one in your life. But then how do you really know sure?

Here to help ensure your relationship decisions:

Tell why you want and desire?

You must have a clarity not only about what you want out of love, but what you want in life with your partner. Immediately after knowing that, you will believe you have entered in a relationship with a goal and a clear vision of what your relationship with him. Defining criteria will help avoid difficulties involved with someone who is not suitable for you.

Measure your romantisme

Although the sound trite, make a list of your ideal match expectations. Contents pair perfectly with the desire, but realistic special. The more you know what that is suitable for you, the more easily catch the moment when he can walk with you.

Love yourself

There are old proverb says: "You will not be able to make other people until you make yourself." This will not only help in time to meet someone new, but also help you start your relationship on a good time.

Be the best

Love is not just looking for someone who will make you happy. Match will produce the best-perhaps someone who will make you a happier person and more productive.

The best way to find true love is a smart-pintarlah choose someone and clear why you select them.

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