Former presidents battle for power

Former presidents battle for power

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, one of the country's three former
living presidents, is stepping up efforts to regain the
presidential seat he had to abandon in July 2001 following his
ouster by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

The visually impaired president reiterated on Sunday the
stance of his National Awakening Party (PKB) which consistently
opposes any proposal to make Indonesia into an Islamic state and
emphasized that the country should maintain its unique
pluralistic outlook.

Speaking during the party's campaign in Denpasar, Bali, the
former chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization,
Nahdlatul Ulama, gave his assurance that his party guaranteed the
protection of minorities.

"Pluralism is a very beautiful asset, which is not found among
other nations in the world," said the former president.

Megawati Soekarnoputri, who served as vice president under his
presidency, replaced Gus Dur three years ago after the MPR
revoked its mandate for him. Many people, including his inner-
circle, believe that the main reason for his downfall was his
inability to tame his habit of issuing controversial statements.

"He has an unfinished mission that he has to deal with, and it
is not fair to deny him his political rights simply because of
his physical condition," Gus Dur's daughter, Zannuba Arifah
Chafsoh Rahman, told the Post.

"As his daughter, I wish he would not join the race, but it
has to be his decision to quit," she underlined.

While Gus Dur wishes to regain his own position, Soeharto is
seemingly edging his eldest daughter Siti Hardijanti "Tutut"
Rukmana closer to the presidential seat. His daughter's biggest
asset is her own father, who was once called as the father of
development.

Tutut is now campaigning for the Concern for the Nation
Functional Party (PKPB), reminding the people of the period under
Soeharto before the economic crisis of 1997. In her campaign in
Denpasar, Tutut asked the crowds to pray for her father's health.

Soeharto remains beyond the reach of the law since his fall,
mainly thanks to his lawyers' ability to convince the courts that
Soeharto would not likely recover from the effect of the strokes
he had suffered .

Former president, B.J.Habibie has been left out in the ongoing
election season, with no prospects of staying on the country's
political stage. His two sons also show no interest in politics.

After his failure to win the presidential race in October
1999, Habibie has spent most of his time in Germany caring for
his wife, Ainun Habibie, who is undergoing treatment there. He
replaced his mentor Soeharto in May 1998.

"Indonesia is still his main concern, he always has the
intention of coming back and living here," Habibie's nephew Adrie
Soebono told The Jakarta Post last week.

The East Timorese people will always remember him for his
dramatic decision to allow the tiny province to hold a referendum
for self determination in 1999. The decision was a bitter pill
for Indonesia but the world praised him for the historic
decision.