Golkar says all nominations for Soeharto
JAKARTA (JP): The ruling political group Golkar has received numerous nominations for Indonesia's next president from various supporters. All had one name: the incumbent Soeharto.
Golkar chairman Harmoko told reporters that many mass organizations and individual supporters had called on Golkar to nominate Soeharto for the 1998/2003 term.
"A heap of letters demanding Pak Harto's reelection have filled up our cabinet. So far, we haven't heard any other name," Harmoko said.
Harmoko, however, refused to formally announce Golkar's position on the subject until after a leadership meeting scheduled for Oct. 17 to Oct. 20.
"We just want to stick to the procedures we have already agreed on. We will take the public's aspirations into account, but you can guess what the trend means," he said.
The People's Consultative Assembly will meet in March to elect a president and vice president and to endorse the State Policy Guidelines for the next five years.
Political analysts say that the 76-year-old Soeharto is almost certain to once again be the lone candidate in the presidential election. Speculation instead has focused on who will fill the number two slot currently held by Try Sutrisno.
Golkar will dominate the Assembly, with a faction of 488 of the 1,000 members. The others are the Armed Forces (113 members), the United Development Party (134), the Indonesian Democratic Party (16) and the Regional Representatives Faction (149). The remaining 100 seats are given out to representatives from mass organizations and professional groups.
Harmoko said Golkar had set a number of criteria that its presidential candidate should have. They are: capable of maintaining national unity, acceptable by all groups in society, possess leadership qualities recognized both at home and abroad, and be experienced in implementing the ideals of the New Order government.
Golkar will support one candidate only. "There is always only one best choice," he said.
Harmoko rejected political observer Amien Rais' proposal to hold a dialog on the future president, saying that the Assembly meeting was enough to accommodate various aspirations from the public.
"The session itself is a dialog, because it gathers all political organizations and interests in the country," he said.
Harmoko reiterated that Golkar would not disclose its vice presidential nomination until the president had been elected.
"Our constitution says the vice president must be able to cooperate with the president. We have to consult with the elected president to decide on his/her companion," he said.
Golkar was aware of public opinions on the future vice president, but added that it had yet to receive letters of support for any particular individual from its constituency.
"Let people trade arguments on vice presidential candidates, because our democracy is open to differences. But we will abide by our principles," Harmoko said.
Harmoko, who led Golkar to a landslide victory in the May general election, is regarded a potential candidate for the number two job, along with Minister of Information R. Hartono, Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie and Minister of National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita.
President Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana has lately been included on the list.
"We would be wasting our time if we named our vice presidential candidate now, only to find later that he or she cannot work together with the elected president," he said. (amd)