Presidency is not everything to me: Habibie<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie, facing signs of
\nincreasingly shaky Golkar backing for his presidential campaign,
\nstrove on Monday to convince the public he would not engage in
\ndirty politics.<\/p>\n
\"Being president is not everything to me,\" Habibie was quoted
\nas saying by Awaloeddin Djamin, chairman of the National Advisory
\nCouncil for Education (BPPN), after meeting with the council on
\nMonday at Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
\"I am willing to become president only in a halal (religiously
\nacceptable) way,\" Habibie said, as reported by Antara.<\/p>\n
\"I would never accept it. I would never feel I was a good
\npresident if methods that brought me there are not good,\" said
\nHabibie, who has faced mounting pressure after reports implicated
\nhim in the Bank Bali interbank debt scandal.<\/p>\n
Awaloeddin was accompanied on Monday by other council members,
\nincluding Mien Uno and Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI)
\nchairman Ali Yafie.<\/p>\n
The ruling Golkar Party, which trailed the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) in the June 7
\ngeneral election with 22 percent of the vote, is currently
\nshowing signs of an internal split. The party has been divided
\ninto two camps over calls for the removal of chairman Akbar
\nTandjung and deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman, who has been
\naccused of undermining Habibie's chances at the presidential
\nelection.<\/p>\n
Akbar threw his weight behind Marzuki, and hinted that Golkar
\nmay reverse its backing of Habibie unless the latter takes a firm
\nstance on the Bank Bali scandal and investigations into former
\npresident Soeharto's alleged corruption.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Habibie held a five-hour meeting with Golkar
\nleaders to discuss the party's split and its backing for Habibie
\nas president for the next five year term. Habibie will face in
\nthe November presidential election PDI Perjuangan's chairwoman,
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
Golkar, a monolithic bloc during Soeharto's rule, split when
\n12 of the party's 27 chapters warned of a no-confidence motion
\nagainst chairman Akbar if no action was taken against Marzuki
\nDarusman.<\/p>\n
The dissenters accused Marzuki of \"damaging the integrity and
\nauthority of the party and also the image of the Golkar Party\" by
\nairing the party's dirty linen during meetings with rival party
\nexecutives. They also said Marzuki's actions had strengthened the
\nimpression of disunity within Golkar.<\/p>\n
They said a public statement Marzuki made on the Bank Bali
\nscandal, which involved Golkar deputy treasurer Setya Novanto,
\nhad made the public think Golkar had not changed since Soeharto's
\ndownfall. In addition, they sought an extraordinary congress to
\nreplace Marzuki.<\/p>\n
Bank Bali paid PT Era Giat Prima, a private company owned by
\nSetya Novanto, a \"commission\" of Rp 546 billion (US$80 million)
\nto help it recover loans worth Rp 904 billion from closed banks.<\/p>\n
Newspapers have accused Golkar of benefiting from the money.<\/p>\n
After the meeting with Habibie, however, Akbar said the
\ninternal rift was now over.<\/p>\n
\"There will be no extraordinary national conference ...
\nWhatever is still unclear, we will clarify later,\" Akbar said.<\/p>\n
He said he did not even mention in the meeting the demand of
\nthe dissenters to convene an extraordinary national congress. He
\nearlier dismissed the call as \"political guerrilla\" tactics.<\/p>\n
\"The President simply instructed that Golkar should abide by
\nthe decisions of its leadership meeting (to nominate Habibie) in
\nanticipating the General Session of the People's Consultative
\nAssembly,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council (DPA), AA Baramuli,
\nwas present at the meeting in his capacity as chairman of
\nGolkar's advisory council. Baramuli had earlier publicly admitted
\nthat he had helped draft the statement demanding the
\nextraordinary congress.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, Marzuki was also given the opportunity to
\nexplain himself. \"In essence, Marzuki wants the party to be solid
\nand for Habibie's nomination for president to be successful,\"
\nAkbar said.<\/p>\n
Marzuki has since the beginning been outspoken in his
\nopposition of Habibie's nomination. He preferred Indonesian
\nMilitary Commander Gen. Wiranto.<\/p>\n
Separately, political observer Fachry Ali said in the East
\nJava town of Malang on Monday that if the General Session of the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly saw only two candidates, namely
\nHabibie and Megawati, then the votes of the Islamic United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) would surely go to Habibie.<\/p>\n
PPP wanted a male, Muslim Indonesian to be the next president.
\nIt won third place in the June 7 polls with 10.71 percent of the
\nvote and 59 seats at the House of Representatives. (swe)<\/p>",
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