ABRI may be leaning to Habibie for VP

JAKARTA (JP): The powerful Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) has hinted it may support B.J. Habibie for the vice presidency, boosting the research and technology minister's chances considerably after ruling Golkar, the United Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party endorsed his candidacy.

Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid, the deputy House speaker from the ABRI faction, said here last night it had named only one person, a candidate who was also picked by Golkar.

Golkar's choices for the nation's second in command, announced last week, are Habibie and the organization's chairman, Harmoko.

Asked whether ABRI's pick was Habibie, Syarwan said: "You may be right ...Insya Allah (with God's blessing) there will be no changes in the Armed Forces' decision."

The three-star general said ABRI's announcement of its vice presidential nomination was just a matter of days away.

Also Saturday, the small Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) said it would nominate Habibie. Deputy chairwoman Fatimah Achmad said chairman Soerjadi and secretary-general Buttu R. Hutapea would meet Habibie this afternoon to ask for his willingness to be the party's candidate.

She said PDI decided to ask Habibie after it failed to gain the agreement of other figures to be the candidate.

"Pak Soerjadi asked several people, but none was willing," she said, declining to mention their names.

Separately, the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP) has announced it also favored Habibie and its own chairman, Ismail Hasan Metareum.

The party will meet tomorrow to pick a final candidate to be brought before the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) session next month, according to Jusuf Syakir, the chairman of the PPP faction at the Assembly.

In addition to only naming one person, the Armed Forces said it wished its candidate was in agreement with Golkar's. Outgoing ABRI Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung said earlier in the week the faction would consult President Soeharto in the event of any disagreement before announcing its candidate.

Habibie, Soeharto's confidant for years, was dubbed "super minister" because of his many posts and roles in the country's economic and political spheres.

He is also chairman of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI). Five years ago, it was widely believed the organization was influential in the selection of the 1993-1998 cabinet lineup.

Golkar and its allies -- ABRI and the bureaucracy -- proposed last month 14 criteria for a vice president, including priorities that the candidate be a person of vision with superior knowledge of technology, science and industry.

Speculation grew that the criteria pointed to Habibie.

ICMI deputy chairman Achmad Tirtosudiro said: "Insya Allah, Habibie will have a greater opportunity for the vice presidency." (imn/swe)