Controversial Wiranto may enliven election race<\/p>\n
Imanuddin, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta,
\niman@thejakartapost.com<\/p>\n
The general elections is still a year ahead, but prospective
\ncandidates for the next presidency, who have their roots in the
\ntop ten political parties, have either secretly or publicly
\nlaunched their pre-election campaigns by visiting their
\nconstituents across the country.<\/p>\n
Some others, who have yet to join or become affiliated with
\ncertain political parties, have been tipped as candidates for the
\ncountry's number-one position by smaller parties. One of these is
\nformer Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. (ret.) Wiranto, who
\nwas recently nominated by the Indonesian Workers' Congress Party
\n(PKPI) as its candidate for next year's elections.<\/p>\n
PKPI constituents are members of the All-Indonesia Labor
\nUnions (SPSI), the only government-sanctioned union under the
\nrule of president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Though Wiranto has yet to choose his representative political
\nparty, PKPI's decision to race in the 2004 elections and nominate
\nhim as its candidate will provide the Indonesian people with a
\ndifferent alternative for the country's top post.<\/p>\n
Wiranto has had a skyrocketing career in the military, as the
\ntop student at the Army's Staff and Command School (Seskoad) and
\nat the military's think tank, the National Resilience Institute
\n(Lemhannas), and being appointed the country's military chief in
\nFebruary 1998 when he was only 51.<\/p>\n
His decision to join the presidential race, if he does,
\nhowever, will not be free from controversy.<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Human Rights has stated that he was
\namong those officials responsible for the human rights abuses
\nthat occurred before and after the referendum of Aug. 30, 1999
\nwhich led to East Timor's independence. Yet, he was not among the
\n18 defendants tried in the rights case.<\/p>\n
Wiranto, along with former Army Strategic Reserves Commander
\n(Kostrad) Let. Gen. Djadja Suparman, Brawijaya Military Commander
\noverseeing East Java Maj. Gen. Sudi Silalahi, and former TNI
\nchief of general affairs Lt. Gen. Suaidi Marasabessy, was also
\naccused by sociologist Thamrin Amal Tomagola of being the
\n"provocateurs" and masterminds behind the sectarian clashes in
\nAmbon and elsewhere in Maluku.<\/p>\n
The latest accusation against Wiranto was his alleged
\ninvolvement in the attempt to topple President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri by funding the recent antigovernment protests. The
\nallegation is yet to be proven, but it has worsened his image.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Wiranto's military background could indeed be an
\nauspicious factor for his candidacy.<\/p>\n
As a military officer, he has been involved in the handling of
\nmajor armed conflicts and is familiar with the characteristics
\nand behaviors of people in most parts of the country, an
\nadvantage that not many Indonesian leaders have.<\/p>\n
Yet, the reform movement which snowballed following the May
\n1998 downfall of Soeharto, who also had a military background,
\nhas led Indonesians to place their political faith in civilian
\nleaders.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's successor B.J. Habibie was a civilian, likewise
\nHabibie's successor Abdurrahman Wahid, and the incumbent
\nPresident Megawati.<\/p>\n
However, none of the three civilian presidents have been able
\nto bring Indonesia out of the political and economic crisis,
\nwhich has been plaguing the country since mid-1997.<\/p>\n
Habibie, whose accountability speech was rejected by the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Oct. 19, 1999 after 17
\nmonths in power, failed to continue with his recovery programs
\nafter his defeat in the legislative body.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman was ousted from his seat in July 2001 after nine
\nmonths in power over a corruption scandal.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Megawati's administration has been at the center of
\ncriticism over its controversial policies, including the sale of
\nstate-owned international phone operator PT Indosat's 41.9
\npercent stake to a Singaporean firm, and the acquittal of a
\nnumber of former bank owners of past banking crimes.<\/p>\n
In a state of little progress over the years after Soeharto's
\ndownfall, many might consider a candidate with a military
\nbackground running for the presidency next year, despite the fact
\nthat people still clearly remember the repressive approach of a
\npresident with a military background -- in the name of political
\nand economic stability, Soeharto crushed many of his critics and
\nopponents.<\/p>\n
Indeed, many have expressed a wish to return to a time which
\nthey say was better under the "iron fist" of Soeharto.<\/p>\n
In regards his chances, Wiranto's military background would
\nbenefit him as he will at least win the support of the
\nAssociation of Retired Military Officers (Pepabri), an umbrella
\norganization for retired military and police officers.<\/p>\n
Further, although he is already retired, his past attachment
\nwith the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), which has
\nthe largest number of highly-skilled troops, will help him win
\nthe support of a part of the still active Army officers. The
\nincumbent TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto was assistant to the
\narmed forces chief for general affairs, when Wiranto was the ABRI
\n(now TNI) chief. Endriartono has also spent two-thirds of his
\ncareer in Kostrad.<\/p>\n
Wiranto, a former adjutant of Soeharto, is also likely to win
\nthe support of his former boss, who still wields strong influence
\nin the TNI.<\/p>\n
No matter which presidential election system is applied to
\nnext year's election, if his name appears on the MPR's list of
\npresidential candidates, everything will be possible for Wiranto.<\/p>\n
At least he could win the support of Akbar Tandjung, chairman
\nof the second-largest party, the Golkar Party. People still
\nremember that it was with the help of Wiranto, who was then the
\nABRI chief, that Akbar secured votes from the chairmen of several
\nGolkar provincial chapters to win the party's chairmanship in
\nJuly 1998.<\/p>\n
Wiranto could also win the support of the eastern Indonesia
\nfaction in Golkar, due to his closeness with Habibie, whose
\nfather was from Gorontalo and his mother, from Yogyakarta.
\nWiranto was the ABRI chief when Habibie was in office, and
\ncoincidentally, Wiranto's wife also hails from Gorontalo.<\/p>\n
Although debatable, his being a Javanese, in this case a
\nYogyakarta native, boosts his attractiveness as a candidate.<\/p>\n
Among the grassroots, Wiranto also has significant support in
\nthe Muslim community, because of his close relationships with
\nsome Muslim leaders in Jakarta, Banten and East Java.<\/p>\n
With these pros and cons of both military and civilian
\ncandidates, it will still rest on the Indonesian people to decide
\nupon the most suitable candidate for the president of this
\ncountry.<\/p>",
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