JUSUF Kalla said: “I don’t have a [political] party. My party is the “Lembang 9” and the Association of Families of South Sulawesi.” This statement was made in early 2004, when Kalla was ostracized by the Golkar Party for daring to nominate himself as the vice-presidential candidate without the blessing of then Golkar Chairman Akbar Tandjung. In the last election, it was these two groups who became the prime movers behind the political