Emil intends to go forward with VP nomination
Emil intends to go forward with VP nomination
DEPOK, West Java (JP): Senior economist Emil Salim has
responded favorably to calls by fellow intellectuals for him to
be nominated a candidate for the vice presidential election next
month.
"I'm pressing forward. I intend to stay (in the race)," Emil
said here Saturday after Asman Boedisantoso Ranakusuma was
installed as the new rector of the University of Indonesia,
replacing M.K. Tadjudin.
"Five years ago, nobody nominated me. They have now, so I will
go forward," he said, pointing out that the move was part of a
democratization of the country.
Emil Salim is a former environmental minister and a professor
at the University of Indonesia, as well as a member of the
Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals. He is a respected
scholar and has a reputation of being honest.
A number of prominent non-governmental organization (NGO)
activists, including professor of psychology and founder of women
studies Saparinah Sadli, gathered in Jakarta Wednesday to call
for the nomination of Emil for vice president. The group also
included leading consumer rights activist Tini Hadad and
demography expert Mayling Oei Gardiner.
In her letter to the media, Saparinah said NGO activists,
members of the media and academics believed that Emil was the
best choice for vice president.
Saparinah has been garnering support for her fellow professor
at the University of Indonesia. She has attended events calling
for Emil's nomination and has asked colleagues and friends to
sign statements of support.
Emil said he was confident of the support of his friends.
Gesturing toward hundreds of professors, university lecturers and
other intellectuals attending Asman's installment, he said:
"Intellectuals, youths and various groups support me. Pick one of
those intellectuals and ask them yourself."
"It's no longer the time to be silent," he said.
When reminded that he must be officially nominated by a
faction in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to stand for
election, Emil said: "That is not my business. I am nominated.
It's the job of those who nominate me to approach the factions."
"If you are nominated by your own friends, you must not let
them down," he said. "So I'm going ahead."
Saparinah could not be reached for comment yesterday. Those
supporting Emil have not said anything public about the
reelection of President Soeharto to a seventh, consecutive five-
year term.
Golkar chairman Harmoko, State Minister of Research and
Technology B.J. Habibie and United Development Party (PPP)
chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum are the only vice presidential
candidates to be officially nominated to date by factions in the
MPR.
The chairman of the body for the study of the state ideology
Pancasila, Alwi Dahlan, said in Padang on Saturday that having
more than one vice presidential candidate was a sign that the
country was gaining ground in its democratization efforts.
"This is clearly a positive development, because people would
then have many candidates. But remember, they are not really
candidates before the MPR processes them in the General Session,"
he was quoted by Antara as saying.
He did not say anything about the presidential election. (swe)