A good choice

A good choice

The appointment of the new Army Chief of Staff is drawing greater attention than similar appointments before, not only because Lt. Gen. Hartono is the first officer from the socio- political branch to become Army Chief of Staff, but also because many people had speculated that Gen. Wismoyo's career would not end at that position, but that he could for example have become the Armed Forces Chief Commander.

We understand why President Soeharto has chosen the head of the Armed Forces (ABRI) head of socio-political affairs for the post of Army Chief of Staff. The reason is that whether it wants to or not the government has to apply the security approach and the prosperity approach concurrently in order to maximize the effectiveness of ABRI's dual function.

Many optimistic opinions have been expressed regarding Gen. Hartono's personal integrity. The Australian political scholar and specialist on Indonesia Dr. Harold Crouch is of the view that Hartono is intelligent and active. He is close to the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals but does not belong to it.

Environmentalist Agus Mitfah is happy with Hartono's appointment because the general has a great appreciation for the aspirations and dynamism of society as expressions of democracy and responsibility towards development. In his position as ABRI chief of socio-political affairs he often held dialogs with leaders of non-governmental organizations, a routine which we hope will continue.

We would like to comment that whoever the person, any appointment to a higher post in government, or the fact of being entrusted with it, should not be seen as a favor but as a responsibility that must be carried out towards success.

The higher the post and the greater its strategic importance, the more neutral the official must be and the more he must avoid giving an impression of partiality.

-- Sinar Pagi, Jakarta