Habibie a perfect match for Soeharto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The vice presidential election is not until
\nWednesday, but most informed citizens believe B.J. Habibie will
\nget the nod after all five factions in the People's Consultative
\nAssembly picked him as their sole candidate.<\/p>\n
Any question whether President Soeharto -- whose reelection is
\nalso almost a certainty -- would approve of Habibie as his vice
\npresident is obviously rhetorical as the two have long been known
\nto be very close.<\/p>\n
Habibie often stays for hours when he reports to Soeharto
\neither at the Bina Graha presidential office or the latter's
\nresidence on Jl. Cendana. Some people believe the closeness of
\ntheir relationship resembles the ties that bound Sukarno and
\nMohammad Hatta, the country's first president and vice president,
\nwho were dubbed dwitunggal (two but one).<\/p>\n
Habibie signaled his willingness to be nominated beginning in
\nSeptember of last year. Amid controversy over whether civilians
\nwere on par with the military in their ability to lead the
\ncountry in the future, Habibie insisted civilians deserved top
\nleadership posts because they made up the majority of Indonesia's
\npopulation.<\/p>\n
Perfect graduate<\/p>\n
Born in the remote village of Nepo, Parepare, South Sulawesi,
\non June 25, 1936, Habibie -- or Rudy as he known by intimates --
\nwas brought up in a strictly religious Moslem family.<\/p>\n
The third of four children began reading the Koran when he was
\na child. His lifelong religious devotion continues in adulthood.
\nDespite his hectic schedule as a minister, he continued to fast
\nevery Monday and Thursday, a highly recommended practice in Islam
\nbut not compulsory. He went on the haj pilgrimage in 1983.<\/p>\n
His father, Alwi Abdul Jalil Habibie from the South Sulawesi
\ntown of Gorontalo, died when Habibie was 13 years old.<\/p>\n
His Javanese mother, R.A. Tuti Marini, brought her children to
\nBandung, West Java.<\/p>\n
After attending the Bandung Institute of Technology for about
\na year in 1954, Habibie won a scholarship from the Ministry of
\nEducation and Culture to study aircraft construction engineering
\nin Aachen, West Germany, a course he completed in 1960.<\/p>\n
Five years later, at his own expense, he obtained a
\nengineering doctorate from the Reinisch-Westfaelische Technische,
\nAachen. He passed with honors and a perfect grade point average.<\/p>\n
He was the only non-German in the post World War II era to
\nwrite about aeronautics for his final thesis. He was also the
\nfourth to obtain the degree from a German university on work
\nabout structural strength.<\/p>\n
Habibie Factor<\/p>\n
As a research assistant at Aachen's Technische Hocheschule
\n(1960-1965), Habibie created a design of a deep sea submarine and
\na high pressured and temperature room for Julich Atomic Center.<\/p>\n
With the Hamburger Flugzeugbau (HF) aircraft industry, he
\ndesigned the world's first aircraft with one consolidated wing,
\nwhich remains the only aircraft in the world capable of a
\nvertical landing and takeoff.<\/p>\n
He designed more aircraft, including those for satellite and
\nnuclear projects, when he was an expert staff, then vice
\npresident, of the Messerschmidt Boelkow Blohm (MBB), another
\naircraft industry which subsequently merged with HF.<\/p>\n
He is often nicknamed \"Mr. Crack\" for his outstanding ability
\nto calculate the random crack propagation down to its very atom.<\/p>\n
Many structural engineers were fearful of the cracks, as it
\nwas difficult to predict the crack propagation behavior. In the
\nworld of aircraft construction, his inventions are often referred
\nto as the \"Habibie Factor\", \"Habibie Theory\" or Habibie Function.<\/p>\n
In 1974, President Soeharto called Habibie home and assigned
\nhim to be his technological consultant. He has been State
\nMinister of Research and Technology since 1978.<\/p>\n
Among the more than 20 strategic and influential institutions
\nhe currently chairs or recently led are the Agency for the
\nAssessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), the Agency for
\nStrategic Industries, Nusantara Aircraft Industries (IPTN) and
\nthe Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals.<\/p>\n
Character<\/p>\n
His close ties with Soeharto began when he was a teenager.
\nSoeharto, then commander of Mataram Brigade, was assigned to
\ncontrol a rebellion in South Sulawesi and stayed in the
\nneighboring military camp.<\/p>\n
Close friends succinctly describe Habibie's character as
\nrational as a German, as economical as a Jew or Chinese and as
\nhumble as a Javanese.<\/p>\n
Political observers Marzuki Darusman and Riswandha Imawan of
\nYogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University concurred with the
\nassessment.<\/p>\n
Riswandha said it was Habibie's rationality which, among other
\nthings, led some to hope he would play a significant role in
\ncreating a peaceful regeneration.<\/p>\n
\"This characteristic allows him to select people based on
\nmerit,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Habibie's strengths, according to Riswandha, include his
\npopularity among the majority Moslem community, the esteem he
\nholds among youth and his long service as Soeharto's minister.<\/p>\n
\"Serving Soeharto for dozens of years has made him understand
\nexactly what Soeharto wants. He has the capability of translating
\nSoeharto's conceptual visions into something workable.\"<\/p>\n
With these qualities, Riswandha added, Habibie would be able
\nto bridge the communication gap between generations.<\/p>\n
\"He has proven it,\" Riswandha said, pointing out how Habibie
\nsuccessfully reestablished contact between Soeharto and Gen.
\n(ret) A.H. Nasution, one of the country's most senior military
\nfigures who became a government critic.<\/p>\n
Dissidents<\/p>\n
Habibie was also responsible for mending -- no matter how
\nfleetingly -- the splintered relationship between the government
\nand members of a group of government critics, who called
\nthemselves Petisi 50, by inviting them on a tour of the IPTN
\nfacility.<\/p>\n
He has also created honorable positions in BPPT for several
\nfigures regarded as dissidents by the government but who
\ndisplayed potential.<\/p>\n
\"His proximity to minority groups has certainly to be
\nconsidered as a betterment (should he become the vice
\npresident),\" said Marzuki, who is also deputy chairman of the
\nNational Commission on Human Rights.<\/p>\n
Although Habibie has been labeled a \"big spender\" because of
\nhis costly visionary technological projects, Marzuki said this
\nwas unjustified.<\/p>\n
The label came about because of Habibie's positions as the CEO
\nor president of high-tech industries, which are national projects
\nand carried out based on national decisions, Marzuki said. It
\ndoes not, in other words, have any link to his personality.<\/p>\n
Marzuki advised that Habibie, in his desire to succeed as a
\nnational leader, should be concerned about some individuals close
\nto him who he said created an image of exclusivity.<\/p>\n
\"These people have made things complicated and caused people
\nto feel uncomfortable approaching Habibie,\" Marzuki said, without
\nmentioning any names.<\/p>\n
Riswandha gave a different recommendation.<\/p>\n
He said Habibie needed a supporting team comprising people
\nwith strong knowledge about Indonesian politics should he become
\nthe vice president. This team would be needed to cope with the
\n\"natural\" character traits of a scientist -- Riswandha said those
\ninvolved in the discipline tended to be individualistic.<\/p>\n
Another political analyst, Arbi Sanit, said: \"He also needs to
\nbe more open to changes should he want to be successful (as a
\nvice president).\" (swa)<\/p>",
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