Harmoko says he won't refuse VP nomination<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Golkar vice presidential candidate Harmoko
\nasserted yesterday his intention to remain in the race until
\nGolkar's chief patron, President Soeharto, decided otherwise.<\/p>\n
\"I won't refuse my vice presidential nomination,\" he told
\nreporters after addressing a congress of the Communication Forum
\nof Indonesian Veterans' Children (FKPPI) in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Commenting on a suggestion that he first relinquish his
\nchairmanship at the House of Representatives and the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR) before jumping into the vice
\npresidential race, Harmoko said yesterday he would first discuss
\nthe matter with the Golkar family.<\/p>\n
\"My nomination is just a preliminary step,\" said Harmoko, who
\nis also chairman of Golkar.<\/p>\n
Asked whether Golkar would eventually come up with only one
\nname, Harmoko said the matter would also be discussed in a
\nmeeting of the Golkar family, which includes the Armed Forces
\n(ABRI) and the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\"Our (the coalition of Golkar, ABRI and the bureaucracy) final
\ncandidate will be decided after we meet with Golkar's chief
\npatron,\" he said, referring to President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
The meeting was scheduled to take place last night but so far,
\nno more information was available.<\/p>\n
Harmoko is in for tough competition from State Minister of
\nResearch and Technology B.J. Habibie, who has also been named a
\nGolkar candidate. Furthermore, Indonesia does not have a strong
\ntradition of multiple vice presidential candidacy.<\/p>\n
Except in 1988, the Assembly's five factions have always
\nagreed to name only one candidate in the vice presidential
\nelections since 1973. The United Development Party attempted to
\nbreak the tradition when it nominated its chairman, Jaelani Naro,
\nto challenge the then Golkar chairman Sudharmono in 1988. Naro
\nthrew in the towel on the eve of the election.<\/p>\n
By convention, prior to the vice presidential election, each
\nfaction will seek approval of its candidate from the elected
\npresident.<\/p>\n
The vice presidential election is one of the major agendas of
\nthe Assembly's General Session from March 1 to March 11.<\/p>\n
Harmoko said he did not consider Habibie his contender and did
\nnot believe rumors that Habibie and the newly appointed Armed
\nForces commander, Gen. Wiranto, had coalesced to facilitate
\nHabibie in the race.<\/p>\n
Wiranto has said he would not be involved in Golkar's meeting
\nbecause he was not yet formally installed as the new ABRI
\ncommander.<\/p>\n
Wiranto will serve as the Army chief of staff until Feb. 16,
\nwhen he will be sworn in as ABRI commander in place of Gen.
\nFeisal Tanjung.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Armed Forces faction in the MPR, Lt. Gen. Yunus
\nYosfiah, said the Armed Forces would try to settle any
\ndifferences regarding the vice presidential nomination.<\/p>\n
Yunus, the outgoing Armed Forces chief of sociopolitical
\naffairs, refused to confirm whether ABRI would choose one of the
\ntwo candidates proposed by Golkar.<\/p>\n
Another Armed Forces representative in the MPR, Lt. Gen.
\nSyarwan Hamid, said the faction would not go out of its way to
\nnominate a candidate with a military background.<\/p>\n
\"We'd rather choose a candidate for his or her capabilities,\"
\nsaid Syarwan, also the Assembly's deputy speaker.<\/p>\n
Chances<\/p>\n
Golkar's treasurer, Bambang Trihatmodjo, said both Harmoko and
\nHabibie stood an equal opportunity for the vice presidency.<\/p>\n
However, he suggested that discourses on the vice presidency
\nbe delayed until a new president is elected.<\/p>\n
Bambang, also chairman of the FKPPI, said the organization
\nwould not parrot other organizations which had announced support
\nfor certain individuals.<\/p>\n
\"We'll channel our aspiration to Golkar,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman
\nDjojonegoro, head of Golkar's council of experts Marwah Daud, and
\nGolkar legislator Andi Mattalata said they favored Habibie to win
\nthe second-top post.<\/p>\n
\"He has a great chance,\" said Wardiman, known to be close to
\nHabibie and a colleague in the Association of Indonesian Moslem
\nIntellectuals (ICMI). He refused further comment.<\/p>\n
Marwah, also an ICMI member, praised Habibie for his
\ncommitment to democracy, national unity and human resources
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
\"Don't worry, he won't discriminate against the minority if he
\nis elected second in command. He loves the country very much,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
\"Our future generation will feel regret if we fail to promote
\nsuch a skillful person for the vice presidential post,\" she
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Andi suggested Harmoko give way to Habibie, saying that the
\nlatter had already gained wide support from the public.
\n(har\/imn\/amd)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/harmoko-says-he-wont-refuse-vp-nomination-1447893297",
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