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