Presidential contenders keep Habibie on his toe<\/p>\n
By Kornelius Purba<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): What is President B.J. Habibie's chance of
\nwinning the presidential election? The result of Monday's general
\nelection will help determine that, but some people around him
\nplay a significant role in ensuring a smooth trip to the
\npresidential seat.<\/p>\n
Among those is Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung who, after his
\nresignation as minister\/state secretary on May 13 gained a
\nsignificant political leverage. Habibie now has to please Akbar
\nso Golkar will not change its mind about nominating the
\nPresident. There are also several people who are Habibie's
\nserious contenders because Golkar, too, has named them vice
\npresidential candidates.<\/p>\n
Akbar may have seemed pensive and was even tearful during the
\ntransfer ceremony of his position to Minister of Justice Muladi,
\nbut he felt relieved afterward.<\/p>\n
\"Good luck,\" Habibie said then with a big smile before kissing
\nand hugging the tearful Akbar during the ceremony at the State
\nPalace.<\/p>\n
\"I shall return,\" Akbar assured the President, his voice
\ncracking with emotion, while his wife Krisna Maharani hugged
\nFirst Lady Hasri Ainun Habibie.<\/p>\n
Palace officials and their wives then hastened to pay special
\nattention to Muladi, who also keeps his first post, and wife Nany
\nRatna Asmara. Krisnina stood by herself while Akbar made a
\nfarewell statement to journalists.<\/p>\n
Akbar's resignation from the cabinet was required by the
\nGeneral Elections Commission (KPU) if he wanted to campaign for
\nhis party during the election campaign period, which ended on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
\"Pak Habibie is Golkar's best and sole candidate for the next
\npresidential election,\" Akbar insisted then.<\/p>\n
Two days later Golkar nominated Akbar as a vice presidential
\ncandidate along with three other figures: Minister of
\nDefense\/Indonesian Military Chief Gen. Wiranto, Coordinating
\nMinister for Economy, Finance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita
\nand Yogyakarta monarch Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.<\/p>\n
One of Akbar's aides said Akbar felt much better after he
\nresigned because it gave him more independence before the
\nPresident. He also felt he was now free of pressure from people
\nclosest to Habibie.<\/p>\n
\"Pak Habibie's most trusted people often act as if they are
\nmore important than ministers,\" the aide said after the transfer
\nceremony.<\/p>\n
The aide, who worked for Akbar while he was still state
\nminister for youths and sports in the early 1990s, described his
\nboss' support for the President as a \"flexible\" arrangement.<\/p>\n
Habibie's camp apparently realized that the President was
\nactually dependent on pleasing Akbar at a certain capacity as
\nGolkar's chairman, because Habibie did not have a line of command
\nwith Golkar.<\/p>\n
Palace officials then arranged Akbar to accompany the
\nPresident as often as possible, so the two could be \"emotionally
\ncloser\".<\/p>\n
\"They spoke in German, so actually I did not know what they
\nwere talking about,\" Akbar complained when journalists asked him
\nabout the President's meeting with a German delegation, which
\nAkbar attended.<\/p>\n
On May 14, Golkar leaders endorsed Habibie's nomination
\ndespite opposition from some of Akbar's top aides in the party
\nincluding Marzuki Darusman.<\/p>\n
Marzuki has openly said Wiranto was better than Habibie, due
\nto Habibie's poor track record in the past and his inability to
\ninvestigate former president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
\"I do not want to make any comment about the nomination,\"
\nWiranto said late last month after meeting with Habibie at
\nMerdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
Wiranto told his close friends recently that personally he was
\nnot close to the President, but he would remain loyal to him as
\nthe country's constitutional leader.<\/p>\n
When he was a colonel, Wiranto served to then president
\nSoeharto as an adjutant for four years until 1993. He was often
\nmade to wait for up to five hours while Habibie, then state
\nminister of research and technology, chatted with Soeharto.
\nPalace officials have described the period as among the most
\nboring for Wiranto.<\/p>\n
\"Pak Wiranto still often meets with Pak Harto,\" one of
\nSoeharto's aides said last week.<\/p>\n
The aide said Soeharto and his six children actually still
\nprefer Wiranto to Habibie as the leader of the country. The
\nformer first family complained Habibie had abandoned and left
\nthem unprotected, the aide said.<\/p>\n
Stumbling block<\/p>\n
It is likely that on Monday evening, after the preliminary
\nresult of the voting is announced, Habibie's fate will likely
\nbecome clear.<\/p>\n
Apart from the opposition groups, who are Habibie's most
\nserious contenders? Golkar cadres, especially the four vice
\npresidential candidates, some analysts have said.<\/p>\n
The four do not only have the potential to be the second man,
\nbut even to replace the President himself. Some said it was not
\nlikely the Sultan would agree to work for Habibie as they
\npractically have no contact at all.<\/p>\n
But palace officials said one of the President's most serious
\nproblems was how to manage his \"inner circle cronies\".<\/p>\n
They pointed their finger at Development Inspector Fuadi
\nRasjid; Minister\/State Secretary's Assistant of Foreign Affairs
\nDewi Fortuna Anwar; and Secretary of Development Operations Lt.
\nGen. (ret) Sintong Panjaitan.<\/p>\n
Vice President Secretary Ahmad Watik Pratiknya, and Jimly
\nAssidiqie, the vice president's assistant for people's welfare
\nand poverty alleviation, are also included on the list.<\/p>\n
\"They may well become an asset for him, but if he cannot
\nmanage them properly, they may become a liability,\" said a senior
\npalace official early this month.<\/p>\n
Sources said the President was very surprised when he read a
\none-page advertisement on the People's Sovereignty Party in
\nKompas daily on May 27, announcing its endorsement for the
\nMinister of Cooperatives Adi Sasono as its presidential
\ncandidate.<\/p>\n
\"Adi is his most trusted minister in the cabinet,\" said an
\nofficial.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/presidential-contenders-keep-habibie-on-his-toe-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}