Habibie will serve another term if asked<\/p>\n
HANOI (Reuters): President B.J. Habibie said on Tuesday it
\nwould be arrogant not to accept the presidency for a second term
\nif the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) wanted to appoint him
\nnext year.<\/p>\n
Habibie said in an interview he did not know if the ruling
\nGolkar party wanted him as their candidate when the MPR meets in
\nNovember to appoint a new president.<\/p>\n
\"If you ask would I like (to be president) I don't want to say
\nthat I want to be president. I had not even planned to become
\npresident,\" Habibie said on the sidelines of a regional meeting
\nin Vietnam.<\/p>\n
\"But if they (MPR) say my dear friend you have done a good job
\nthen you continue...If they want me to do it and I'm still in
\ngood health then I think it is very difficult for me, it sounds
\narrogant if I say no,\" he added.<\/p>\n
(Critics at home say Habibie should renounce any intention to
\nbe re-elected after next year as a way of dispelling deep
\nsuspicions which have dogged his presidency. They say many of his
\npolicies are designed to enhance his chances of getting elected.)<\/p>\n
Habibie was thrust into the job last May when his predecessor
\nSoeharto, who ruled for 32 years, stepped down amid widespread
\nviolence in Jakarta that killed almost 1,200 people.<\/p>\n
After taking power, Habibie promised a new president would be
\nnominated by the end of next year at the latest. He also said on
\nTuesday that if the people wanted him to retire he would, and
\nsupport whoever become president after that.<\/p>\n
Habibie said he would not delay general elections scheduled
\nfor next June even if violence marred the campaigning period.<\/p>\n
When asked if he would delay the poll if violence erupted,
\nHabibie said: \"No, we will not do that, because I am committed to
\nthe MPR decision.\"<\/p>\n
\"I have asked all the people, the students and especially the
\nparties...that they take care that these are very fair and
\ntransparent elections,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said Golkar might not get its usual majority, something
\nthat was always guaranteed under Soeharto. \"I'm not sure we will
\nhave a dominant majority. Maybe it will have to be a coalition.\"<\/p>\n
Soeharto<\/p>\n
Habibie insisted that a serious probe was being mounted into
\nallegations Soeharto amassed billions of dollars through
\ncorruption, despite the close ties between the two men.<\/p>\n
Soeharto was \"a good friend...sometimes like my own father and
\nsometimes my older brother\", he said.<\/p>\n
But asked whether his friendship and his long service in
\nSoeharto cabinets meant he was not serious in investigating the
\nformer president, he said: \"No, no, that's not correct.\"<\/p>\n
Habibie said he wanted to create an Indonesia where nobody was
\nabove the law. But he said Soeharto should be presumed innocent
\nuntil proven guilty.<\/p>\n
\"If your good friend is in bad shape, the only thing you can
\ndo is pray for him, that may God give him strength and good
\nhealth. And then of course that he could defend himself and
\nenjoy...the presumption of innocence. He should get a chance to
\ndefend himself,\" Habibie said.<\/p>\n
He brushed off suggestions that Soeharto was still influencing
\nevents in Indonesia from behind the scenes. \"No, no, no, that's
\nnot true.\"<\/p>\n
Golkar -- Page 2<\/p>\n
Asset -- Page 12<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/habibie-will-serve-another-term-if-asked-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }