Just call me Rudy, says the President<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): \"You can just call me Rudy,\" gestured President
\nB.J. Habibie.<\/p>\n
In his two weeks as president, the 62-year-old technocrat has
\nbeen trying to project a congenial image, and again during a
\nluncheon with chief editors and Jakarta-based foreign journalists
\nhe tried to show himself as an average man rather than a
\npatriarch.<\/p>\n
He claimed that he wanted to do away with the feudalistic
\naura surrounding a person of high rank and continue to be
\nintimate with the people.<\/p>\n
Habibie recounted how his predecessor, and mentor, always
\ncomplained that the most important job in the country was always
\nthe loneliest one.<\/p>\n
\"You will have many admirers, many friends and experiences,
\nbut one thing is clear, you will be the loneliest man in the
\nworld,\" Habibie recounted Soeharto telling him 24 years ago after
\nreturning from Germany.<\/p>\n
\"Now I understand the warning. I do feel lonely now,\" he
\nremarked.<\/p>\n
Many things have changed now, even his physical repertoire is
\nmore choreographed.<\/p>\n
He revealed that his wife, Hasri Ainun Besari, told him to be
\nmore meticulous in front of television cameras. \"My wife said I
\nshould no longer wave my hand to people so much.\"<\/p>\n
He lamented that being Indonesia's No. 1 official was also
\ntaxing his personal freedoms.<\/p>\n
He claimed he only had two hours of sleep each night because
\nhe was constantly pondering over ways to lift the economic
\nhardship and restore international confidence in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Even his daily swimming exercise has had to be curtailed.<\/p>\n
Habibie boasted that he used to swim over two kilometers a
\nday. \"I hope that I can swim for one hour this evening,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Habibie claimed that he had not envisioned himself before as
\nthe country's leader, and that he had planned to retire in April
\nthis year after holding a cabinet post since 1978, after which he
\nwould spend five months out of the year in his beloved Germany
\nwhere he spent most of his young adult life.<\/p>\n
His election as vice president in March ruined his dream.<\/p>\n
Unabashed, Habibie said Soeharto had predicted in 1974 that he
\nwould replace him as the country's leader someday.<\/p>\n
\"If God wants it, you will accompany me in bringing this
\nnation to enter the next century,\" Habibie said reciting
\nSoeharto's words 24 years ago.<\/p>\n
Despite the close relationship, Habibie was quick to impugn
\nperceptions that he was merely Soeharto's puppet.<\/p>\n
\"Just look at what we have done,\" he asserted as he pointed
\nout policies he recently enacted that would have been unthinkable
\nduring Soeharto's era, such as releasing political prisoners and
\nrevoking restrictive regulations on press freedoms.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged the many doubts hovering over him, both at
\nhome and abroad.<\/p>\n
\"Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore's senior minister) once said if
\nHabibie is there, everything will collapse,\" he said smilingly
\nrecalling the senior statesman's remark earlier this year when
\nnews first spread that Habibie would be vice president.<\/p>\n
In an apparent response to the wave of discontent against him,
\nHabibie pleaded for patience and cooperation.<\/p>\n
In a remark that suggested that he knew he was only human, he
\nsaid he could not restore the country to its precrisis condition
\novernight.<\/p>\n
\"I only have 24 hours a day like everyone else,\" he quipped.<\/p>\n
Following an off-the-cuff address which was preceded by lunch,
\nHabibie challenged the editors to ask questions. Some looked
\nunprepared, although many could not hide their skeptical
\nimpressions.<\/p>\n
Some Palace officials looked tense as Habibie rambled on
\nduring the question period for over two hours.<\/p>\n
From the sidelines, one of his doctors jested in a whisper
\nthat it might be healthy to talk freely to the press for hours.
\n(prb)<\/p>",
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