Golkar may review Habibie's nomination
Golkar may review Habibie's nomination
JAKARTA (JP): Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung, who was
given the power to review the party's support for the
presidential candidacy of incumbent B.J. Habibie by party
executives on Wednesday, indicated on Saturday he may review
Habibie's nomination if the President's accountability speech was
rejected.
"If the President's accountability speech is rejected, it is
possible that we will reconsider (Habibie's candidacy)," Akbar
said on Saturday afternoon.
Akbar's comments came as four of the 11 factions in the
People's Consultative Assembly completed their overviews of
Habibie's accountability speech, which was delivered on Thursday
night.
The four factions which rejected the speech -- the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle, the National Awakening Party, the
Indonesian Nationhood and the Love the Nation Democratic Party --
said Habibie failed to account for many of the issues which
remained unresolved during his 16-month tenure.
Only one faction, United Ummat Sovereignty, signaled its
outright acceptance of the speech.
Six other factions, including the Golkar Party of Reform,
indicated reservations with the speech, but fell short of stating
whether they would reject it. Instead, they referred the
accountability speech to the Assembly commission which will be
formed to deliberate the speech.
Almost all of the factions highlighted their concern with the
East Timor issue, the Bank Bali scandal and the termination of
the investigation into the alleged corruption by former president
Soeharto.
During the Golkar executive meeting on Wednesday, Akbar was
given a mandate to seek an "alternative strategy" should
Habibie's nomination encounter overwhelming opposition.
Golkar leaders have said that a rejection of Habibie's
accountability speech could be a "turning point" and lead to the
reevaluation of Habibie's candidacy.
Akbar conceded that should the Assembly reject the
accountability speech, either by consensus or by a vote, Golkar
would be faced with a serious dilemma.
Akbar, however, remained equivocal about a reevaluation and
rejected suggestions he could be an alternative to Habibie.
"Even if I'm asked by Golkar, I would say that I'm unwilling
to be nominated," he stated.
Habibie is due to respond to the Assembly factions' overviews
on Sunday morning before the Assembly commission begins its
examination of the speech.
The result of the commission's deliberations will then be
presented to an Assembly plenary session to be accepted or
rejected in the form of a decree.
Whether the speech is accepted or rejected has no legal
implications for Habibie's candidacy, as there is no formal
ruling which forbids him from being reelected if the speech is
rejected.
Chances
Separately, Golkar Party deputy chairmen Fahmi Idris insisted
that despite the outright rejection of the accountability speech
by four factions, Habibie's chances of retaining the presidency
were still good.
He said the indefinite stand taken by many of the factions
should not be taken as a rejection of Habibie's speech.
"It only shows the critical stand of the factions with regard
to the speech," Fahmi said here on Saturday.
Meanwhile, National Awakening Party official Khofifah Indar
Parawansa said it was still difficult to predict Habibie's chance
at the presidency despite the rejection of his speech by four
factions, including her own.
"Habibie's fate will be clearer after his speech is discussed
by the commission. Then we shall know how many of the Assembly's
members are inclined to vote for or against him," Khofifah said.
The commission will begin discussing Habibie's speech on
Sunday afternoon.
National Mandate Party member Hasballah M. Saad said that
whatever the decision on the accountability speech, Habibie still
had the right to push ahead with his presidential bid.
"The rejection of his speech will only be a humiliation to
him, but he still has right to go ahead," Hasballah said.
(byg/jsk)