Former activists for Soeharto's reelection

SEMARANG (JP): An organization of former student activists, Keluarga Besar Laskar Arief Rachman Hakim, vowed last week to back the renomination of President Soeharto for a seventh term in 1998, but the group said it had not yet considered candidates for vice president.

"Wait and see. We have only decided to announce our support for the presidential candidacy, we'll have candidates for vice president later," said Akbar Tanjung, a former student leader and member of the organization.

Akbar, also Minister of Public Housing, said he saw nothing wrong with promoting the names of figures that social groups wanted to have as president from 1998 through 2003. "There's no laws that prevents us from doing so, as long as we are doing it through the proper mechanism and system," he said yesterday.

He explained that a statement of support for presidential candidates should be done through the existing political groupings in the People's Consultative Assembly.

The assembly will convene in 1998 to elect a president. It will also draw up the next Broad Guidelines of State Policies and review laws proposed by political parties. The assembly consists of representatives of the ruling Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP), the Indonesian Democratic Party, the Armed Forces and other social groups.

Recently a number of public figures have named several people as potential vice presidents, including State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie and Minister of Information Harmoko.

Keluarga Besar Laskar Arief Rachman Hakim is an organization of former student leaders who played a major role in Soeharto's rise to power in 1966. The organization said that Soeharto's reelection will "guarantee the continuation of development programs and will guarantee that national leadership remains in the hands of the New Order government."

Numerous organizations affiliated with the ruling Golkar, several cabinet ministers and the Legion of Indonesian Veterans have openly called on the assembly to reelect Soeharto, now 75.

Soeharto was reelected in March 1993 for his sixth consecutive term. He has been in power practically unchallenged for almost 30 years.

Matori Abdul Jalil, a PPP legislator, said the next president should be widely supported, sensitive to people's needs and open to public criticism.

He said the three political groupings should come up with their own presidential candidates. (har/14/swe)