FIRST LADY DENIES SHE HAS PRESIDENTIAL AMBITIONS

Jakarta, Dec. 28 (ANTARA) - First Lady Mrs. Ani Yudhoyono said she had never thought of becoming the next president to succeed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the presidential elections in 2014.

She made the statement in response to a question posed by a student of Taruna Nusantara Senior High School at the State Palace here on Monday.

In a question-and-answer session, Airina, the student, asked the First Lady whether she would nominate herself to be the next president to succeed her husband.

The First Lady was surprised with the question and asked the student why she posed such a question.

"Like what had happened to Hillary Clinton," Airina said.

Ani Yudhoyono laughed and said her task was to take care of and support President Yudhoyono so that he could implement his tasks well.

She said that she also wanted to encourage and support her two sons, Agus Harymurti and Edhie Baskoro, so that they could do their work successfully.

According to the first lady, her husband had forbidden her to engage in business activity in order to avoid a conflict of interest.

The first lady told 69 Taruna Nusantara High School students that she was only allowed by her husband to do work that support the government`s programs.