In the same poll, 43% of respondents said they would vote for Mr. Yudhoyono in the presidential race, compared with 19% for former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, who also backs secular government and remains popular in some areas.

WSJ: Indonesia Polls Show Hard-Line Islamists Losing Ground

State Enterprises Minister Laksamana Sukardi, in charge of reforming the state-owned sector, is a former banker who joined Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the early 1990s, when it was hardly politically expedient to do so.

CNN: Securing His Place

With funding from Hashim, Prabowo ran in July for vice president on the ticket of former leader Megawati Sukarnoputri.

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