Golkar Party seeks alternative candidate

JAKARTA (JP): The Golkar Party's central board of executives is seeking an alternative presidential candidate in anticipation of a possible rejection of President B.J. Habibie's accountability speech by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the party's deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman said on Sunday.

Marzuki, who heads the party's faction at the Assembly, declined to nominate an alternative Golkar Party presidential candidate. But he did reveal that a new candidate could be drawn from inside or outside the party.

"The alternative candidate -- if we have to name one -- would be decided hours before the presidential election on Wednesday," Marzuki told a media conference.

Golkar confirmed Habibie's candidacy in a leadership meeting held early last week. The party also authorized Habibie to choose his running mate -- Indonesian Military chief Gen. Wiranto -- and provided a mandate to the executive board to adopt an alternate candidate if necessary.

Habibie's fate will be known on Tuesday, when 695 members of the Assembly will decide on whether to accept his accountability speech.

Marzuki said that his faction's hope of reaching a consensus with other factions was fading because four factions -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Love the Nation Democratic Party (PDKB) and the Indonesian Nationhood grouping -- had rejected the President's report.

"The only thing we could do now is to fight for a secret ballot on the accountability speech, with a hope that we can solicit support from other factions," he said.

Marzuki said that the party's central board had prepared four options if the President's report was rejected.

"Golkar will go ahead with Habibie's nomination, seek an alternative presidential candidate, back other factions' presidential candidates, or leave it for the Golkar faction's 184 members to freely make their own choices."

But Marzuki said the second alternative was the most likely mode of action.

"Of course it's legal for the party to go ahead with Habibie's nomination, despite a vote of no confidence by the Assembly, but it will be a serious problem from a moral and ethical point of view," he said.

There is no legal consequence for a president whose accountability speech is turned down, although the Provisional Assembly rejected in 1967 the report presented by founding president Sukarno and unseated him.

Golkar's deputy secretary Mahadi Sinambela said on Sunday that his faction was split on Habibie's candidacy following statements of rejection of the President's speech from four Assembly factions.

He said the rejection had sparked anger among Habibie's supporters in the faction and provoked them to "launch certain moves which do not conform to the party's policy line".

"They invited leaders of the party's provincial chapters to the Sahid Jaya Hotel without notifying the chairman (Akbar Tandjung)," he said. He declined to identify the group's members.

Most Golkar chapter leaders are staying in Jakarta until the presidential election is over.

Mahadi said his faction would accept the Assembly's decision if it rejected Habibie's accountability report. (05/rms)