TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice presidential candidate Ma'ruf Amin expressed his resolve to make Indonesia great if he and his running mate, incumbent Joko Widodo (Jokowi), were to emerge victorious in the 2019 presidential election.

"We have to be optimistic that the Indonesian nation and state will become more advanced and greater. Indonesia will not vanish," Ma'ruf Amin stated at a prayer gathering with leaders and members of Nahdlatul Ulama, on Saturday.

He vowed that if Jokowi were to be reelected, Indonesia would become greater and stronger.

"Together, we develop Indonesia. Indonesia will become more advanced, and the people will become more prosperous," he affirmed.

He told the audience that during the first four years of his presidential term, Jokowi was successful in building various infrastructure, such as bridges, roads, airports, and seaports.

President Jokowi has also improved the welfare of the Indonesian people by providing social insurance programs for education, family welfare, and medical services, among others, he remarked.

"If President Jokowi receives support to continue his leadership for a second term, (he) would develop much more," Ma'ruf Amin stated.

Amin, a Shariah economic expert, is also determined to reduce social and economic gaps in order to improve the welfare of the people.

"Hopefully, in future, the social and economic gaps would be reduced," he stated.

Indonesia will organize simultaneous legislative and presidential elections on April 17, 2019.

The 2019 presidential election is considered by many as a repeat of the bitter 2014 presidential race, wherein incumbent President Jokowi and Prabowo Subianto are again set to go head-to-head.

Seeking a second term, 57-year-old Jokowi has picked Amin, 75, chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council, as his partner, while retired general Subianto, 67, has chosen Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, 49, a successful entrepreneur and former deputy governor of Jakarta, as his running mate.

ANTARA