Jakarta. Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said Friday he has given up ambition for reelection and will give way to a younger successor. 

"There are plenty of well-prepared candidates for the vice president. My age must be taken into consideration no matter what. For me, five years serving the country is enough," Ma'ruf was quoted by Detik news website as saying during a visit to the West Sumatra capital of Padang.

"I have said before that I’m now 80 .. and I think I’m too old for this, right? We better give way to young and fresh candidates."

The Muslim cleric said he will remain active with public duties after becoming a private citizen in October of next year.

“My dedication will stop when I meet my Maker,” the former Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman said.

Ma’ruf is the last-minute pick for the running mate of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo during the 2019 presidential election. 

The first choice was Mohammad Mahfud MD, who angrily spoke about the political maneuver in Jokowi’s circle that led to his candidacy being abruptly dropped. 

The future chief security minister told the media at that time that he had had a fitting for the clothes he would wear during the announcement to match the outfit of then-presidential candidate Jokowi.

For the upcoming elections, several names have emerged as potential running mates such as State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, and Democratic Party Chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono.

But the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) typically picked a candidate with a strong support base from Muslims, the one the party found in Ma’ruf in the last election.

The PDI-P has nominated Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo for president and is likely to employ the same approach of a running mate for the populist candidate.

When PDI-P Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri competed in the 2004 presidential election, she picked Hasyim Muzadi – then the chairman of Indonesia’s biggest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama – as the running mate.

Add as a preferred source on Google +