Habibie selects Wiranto as partner<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie told Golkar leaders on
\nWednesday that he picked Indonesian Military chief (TNI) Gen.
\nWiranto to be his partner in next week's presidential and vice
\npresidential race, especially due to the general's ethnic
\nbackground and capability.<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists two hours after meeting with party
\nexecutives at their headquarters in West Jakarta, the President
\npointed out he decided to choose Wiranto to balance his civilian
\nand non-Javanese background.<\/p>\n
Habibie said he was never considered Javanese, although
\nhis mother Tuti Marini Puspowardjojo was Javanese and his late
\nfather was Bugisnese.<\/p>\n
\"Under this era of reform, we must understand that it is
\nbetter that in the duet of president and vice president, one must
\nrepresent the largest ethnic group in Indonesia, the Javanese
\nethnic group,\" Habibie said by teleconference, after inaugurating
\nBaiturrachman Mosque in his hometown of Gorontalo, South
\nSulawesi, from Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
He was asked on Wednesday during a two-hour closed-door talk
\nwith participants of the Golkar leadership meeting to choose one
\nof Golkar's candidates -- former coordinating minister for
\neconomy, finance and industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Yogyakarta
\nGovernor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung
\nand Gen. Wiranto -- for his running mate if he is reelected as
\nthe country's president.<\/p>\n
\"Insya Allah (God's willing), the figure who will be nominated
\nby Golkar as vice president is General Wiranto,\" said the
\nPresident.<\/p>\n
The President pointed out that he needed a (military) general
\nas his partner in leading the country for the sake of the
\nnation's economics and development, because as a military
\nofficer, Wiranto was educated to think strategically to win wars
\nor challenges.<\/p>\n
\"It would be difficult for me to imagine that for the next 5
\nyears the other half of the duo in the national leadership did
\nnot have a military background,\" said Habibie.<\/p>\n
The announcement of the Habibie-Wiranto presidential ticket
\nspooked the interbank foreign exchange market, weakening the
\nrupiah rate against the American dollar to Rp 8,275 from about Rp
\n7,855 on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The market was nervous that his partnership with General
\nWiranto might bolster Habibie's chance of retaining the
\ngovernment's top post, dealers said.<\/p>\n
Akbar, who was elected the speaker of the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR) last week, said Habibie opted for Wiranto
\nas his partner in next week's election because the President
\nbelieved Wiranto would become the latter's best partner in the
\nrace.<\/p>\n
\"From four candidates for vice president ... Pak Habibie has
\ngiven his preference to General Wiranto,\" Akbar explained.<\/p>\n
Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said on Wednesday the
\nrole of TNI in support of a civilian president was crucial for
\nIndonesia's stability.<\/p>\n
\"Clearly, for the foreseeable future, the role of TNI in
\nsupport of a civilian president is crucial for Indonesia's
\nstability,\" Goh said in reply to questions from The Straits Times
\nafter delivering a speech in parliament.<\/p>\n
The Singapore leader said each of the three presidential
\ncandidates would need TNI's support, with some more than others.<\/p>\n
\"The greater the support the new president has, the less
\nstretched the resources of TNI will be,\" Goh added.<\/p>\n
Akbar, meanwhile, vowed that his party would make all out
\nefforts to ensure Habibie and Wiranto's victory. However, he also
\nindicated that Golkar might have to abandon them, especially if
\nHabibie's accountability speech was rejected by the People's
\nConsultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
The leadership meeting, said Akbar, mandated the central
\nexecutive board to take all necessary measures to cope with any
\nemergency situation.<\/p>\n
\"When an urgent decision is required during the process of
\ncandidacy, the party chapters will recommend the central board to
\ntake the necessary steps,\" Akbar added.<\/p>\n
Separately, Habibie received Wiranto and presidential hopeful
\nAbdurrahman Wahid at his private residence in Patra Kuningan,
\nSouth Jakarta, on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, also known as Gus Dur, said he did not raise the
\npresidential election issue with Habibie and Wiranto because it
\nwas only a meeting between old friends.<\/p>\n
\"We miss each other because we have not met for a week,\" said
\nGus Dur after having dinner with Habibie and Wiranto.<\/p>\n
Wiranto, who is also minister of defense and security, refused
\nto make any comment and quickly rushed to his car. \"Wait until
\ntomorrow,\" he said before entering his car.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, Sultan Hamengkubuwono expressed his
\ndisagreement with Golkar's decision to let Habibie pick the vice
\npresidential candidate as such an action would only trigger
\ninternal conflicts within the party.<\/p>\n
\"It can backfire and plunge Golkar into trouble,\" said the
\ngovernor.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Muslim scholar Nurcholis Madjid said he was ready
\nto be an alternative presidential candidate should the Assembly
\nface a deadlock on the presidential election.<\/p>\n
\"Alternative means in a very distressed and uncontrolled
\ncondition,\" Nurcholis, also known as Cak Nur, told reporters on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
When reporters repeated questions on his readiness to be
\npresident, Nurcholis answered, \"At least, I will not run away.\"<\/p>\n
Nurcholis held his stance that a candidate of the party with
\nthe most votes should get first chance to be president and take
\nthe first initiative.<\/p>\n
The Megawati Soekarnoputri-led Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI Perjuangan) won the most votes with 153 seats in
\nthe House of Representatives (DPR). \"Unfortunately, Megawati
\ndidn't take any initiative,\" Nurcholis said, adding that some of
\nhis friends from PDI Perjuangan felt disappointed with her
\npassivity.<\/p>\n
Nurcholis also acknowledged that there was a wrong mind set.
\n\"They take it for granted that having won 33 percent of the vote
\nis sufficient to have Megawati as president,\" he said.
\n(44\/05\/prb\/vin)<\/p>",
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