Golkar reviews support for Habibie in October<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung issued on
\nSaturday a clearer signal of a possible reverse of Golkar's
\nsupport for President B.J. Habibie in the upcoming presidential
\nelection.<\/p>\n
After addressing a seminar held by the Alumni of Muslim
\nStudents Association (KAHMI), Akbar said Golkar would stick to
\nits decision to name Habibie its sole presidential candidate at
\nleast until the party leaders would meet in mid-October.<\/p>\n
Golkar deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman said the meeting,
\nwhich precedes the party's Oct. 20 anniversary celebration, was
\naimed at, among other things, assessing Habibie's performance.<\/p>\n
Akbar, who reportedly met with Habibie at the latter's
\nresidence on Friday night, was cautious in responding to
\nMarzuki's statement.<\/p>\n
\"We still nominate Pak Habibie (as the presidential
\ncandidate). We don't have any plan to replace him,\" Akbar said.
\n\"But we will closely observe the development in national politics
\nand all aspirations raised by the public or Golkar members
\nthemselves.\"<\/p>\n
Habibie's government has been widely criticized for its slow
\ninvestigation into former president Soeharto's alleged
\ncorruption, an alleged involvement in the Bank Bali scandal and
\nits policy which led to the East Timor separation.<\/p>\n
A flurry of violence erupted across the country marring
\nHabibie's administration, which was considered by many as a
\ntransitional government. Habibie took over from Soeharto, who
\nresigned in May last year.<\/p>\n
Akbar said during the next meeting that Golkar would for sure
\nconduct a thorough evaluation of the party's old policies.<\/p>\n
When pressed further whether the presidential candidate issue
\nwould be included in the evaluation, Akbar said: \"Let's wait and
\nsee how things develop.\"<\/p>\n
He said he had approached leaders of other parties, including
\nthe \"axis force,\" to seek their support for its presidential
\ncandidate.<\/p>\n
\"We consider seeking support from political parties which have
\nnot named a presidential candidate,\" Akbar said. The axis force
\nwas a new political alliance which received the support of
\nIslamic parties contesting the June 7 poll. The alliance was
\nintroduced by the chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN),
\nAmien Rais.<\/p>\n
When asked whether Akbar would also seek support from the
\naxis force, he said long consideration was needed to decide on
\nthe matter.<\/p>\n
\"...I'm not sure if the axis force is solid enough so we have
\nnot decided whether or not to ask them to give their support,\" he
\nsaid. (emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/golkar-reviews-support-for-habibie-in-october-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}