Kingmaker Rais now wants to be king<\/p>\n
Kingmaker Rais wants to be king<\/p>\n
Victor Tjahjadi
\nAgence France-Presse
\nYogyakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia's consummate political kingmaker Amien Rais now wants
\nto be king himself.<\/p>\n
"I will leave my position as kingmaker and try to be king
\nmyself," he told AFP in an interview in which he outlined his
\nstrategy to do just that.<\/p>\n
Rais, a U.S.-educated former Muslim leader, was speaking
\nduring a campaign tour for his National Mandate Party (PAN)
\nbefore the April 5 general election. The country's first direct
\npresidential election will follow on July 5.<\/p>\n
Rais, who credited his father with instilling him with self-
\nconfidence, showed he has not lost that trait.<\/p>\n
"My chances are at least 50:50 because we will have a direct
\npresidential election ... and I believe that the people are
\ncritical and prudent enough to elect their president," he said.<\/p>\n
As head of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) which
\nformerly selected presidents, Rais in 1999 led an Islamic
\ncoalition which crushed Megawati Sukarnoputri's bid on grounds
\nthat a woman should not become president.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman Wahid was installed instead. But less than two
\nyears later Rais played a major role in the MPR's sacking of
\nWahid and the elevation of his deputy Megawati to the top spot.<\/p>\n
Despite his credentials as an opponent of military-backed
\ndictator Suharto in the 1990s, Rais said he wants to team up with
\na running mate with a military background for the presidential
\npoll.<\/p>\n
"I want to see this country strong, stable and respectable.
\nOnly by having a strong military as the backbone of national
\ndefense will Indonesia be stable and respected by the
\ninternational community," he said in the interview Sunday.<\/p>\n
He also gave a more pragmatic reason.<\/p>\n
"It is much better to embrace the military people into the
\npower circle rather than exclude them from the circle. If they
\nare suffering from a post-power syndrome, they may become
\ntroublemakers," he said.<\/p>\n
Rais, 59, said he and his party have not yet agreed who should
\nbe invited to run as vice-president on his ticket.<\/p>\n
But he said he considered retired general and Transportation
\nMinister Agum Gumelar as a "respectable and winnable"
\npossibility.<\/p>\n
Rais, a Muslim intellectual, led the country's second largest
\nIslamic organization Muhammadiyah until he founded PAN in 1998.<\/p>\n
But he said he would not run with another Muslim leader
\nbecause "this ticket does not sell. A coalition of two Muslim
\nleaders is not very effective."<\/p>\n
In the year before Suharto stepped down in May 1998, Rais
\ngained credit for his public stand against corruption and in
\nfavor of greater democracy.<\/p>\n
And the man who has been accused by some critics of political
\nopportunism insisted he would never form a coalition with pro-
\nSuharto forces.<\/p>\n
Suharto's eldest daughter, Siti "Tutut" Hardiyanti Rukmana,
\nhas set up the Concern for the Nation Functional Party and it
\nwants her to run for president.<\/p>\n
"I may be wrong but I'm very convinced that the (pro-Suharto)
\nforces are dying. So there is no need for us to give them a new
\nlife. Let them die naturally," Rais said.<\/p>\n
Rais pledged to crack down on corruption and collusion,
\ncalling it "a chronic disease." He also promised a hardline
\nstance, including enforcing the death sentence, against
\nterrorists who have plagued Indonesia in recent years.<\/p>\n
"To me, I don't care where the terrorists come from and who
\nthey are ... Muslims, Christians, Buddhists or Hindus... I will
\npunish them severely because terrorism is a crime against
\nhumanity," he said.<\/p>",
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