Golkar sticks with Habibie

Golkar sticks with Habibie

JAKARTA (JP): The Golkar executive meeting which begins on
Monday will likely retain the nomination of incumbent B.J.
Habibie as its presidential candidate, senior party officials
said.

Golkar deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman told The Jakarta Post
on Sunday that for the moment the party would have to retain the
beleaguered President "as a matter of organizational principal".

"What's most likely to happen is that we will retain his
nomination but at the same time the meeting will mandate the
central board to finalize the nomination in a way that would
reflect the requirement of the situation when the election takes
place," Marzuki said.

The two-day meeting at Santika Hotel in West Jakarta is
scheduled to be opened on Monday evening by Golkar chairman Akbar
Tandjung who was recently elected speaker of the House of
Representatives (DPR).

Marzuki, who heads the Golkar Party faction at the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR), said last week that it would be
"politically unethical" to dump a candidate nominated through an
executive meeting.

He was referring to Golkar's meeting in May when it was
decided to name Habibie as its sole presidential candidate.

Marzuki, however, who has openly stated his opposition to
Habibie's candidacy for his strong links to former president
Soeharto, admitted on Sunday that "it will be very difficult" for
the party to fight for Habibie in the coming presidential
election.

"After three months, we remain the only party that is
supporting Habibie. There is no other party at the moment which
has openly stated its support for him," Marzuki said.

"But it is not impossible, although with just one week until
the presidential election it is still very difficult to calculate
his prospects."

Aside from informal rumblings of discontent during breaks in
the meeting, the strongest outcome of the gathering would likely
be the confirmation of Indonesian Military Commander Gen.
Wiranto's nomination as Habibie's vice president.

"I predicted that the meeting would confirm the Habibie-
Wiranto package. It seems there won't be any surprises," Marzuki
added.

Habibie continues to be dogged by credibility problems
following the Bank Bali scandal, the East Timor issue and the
unresolved allegations of corruption by former president
Soeharto.

Habibie, however, during a nationally televised talk show on
Friday night, said he remains highly optimistic of his chances
for the presidency.

Marzuki said whatever predictions the president makes are his
own personal opinions.

"If Habibie has his own calculation then that is an unofficial
calculation," Marzuki said.

One of the initial indicators of how Golkar will approach the
Habibie candidacy may become more visible on Thursday when the
president has to deliver his accountability speech.

Analysts predict that a rejection of the accountability speech
could effectively end Habibie's presidential bid.

"(The rejection) would be a turning point and there could be
an alternative strategy because we can't stick to the same
strategy which has gotten us nowhere in terms of clear support
for Habibie," Marzuki said without elaborating.

Another Golkar deputy, chairman Agung Laksono, said on Sunday
that reevaluating Habibie's candidacy would probably not be the
most "elegant" thing to do.

"Some claim that people want Habibie to withdraw his
candidacy, but it is not clear on behalf of which Indonesians
they are speaking," he said.

Meanwhile, Antara reported on Sunday that a group of Muslim
clerics met with Golkar executive Marwah Daud Ibrahim at the MPR
building to air their support for Habibie and called on the
Golkar executive meeting to reaffirm his candidacy.

Marwah is known to be one of Habibie's staunchest supporters.

Political analyst Soedjati Djiwandono, however, told the Post
that the best political move for Golkar would be "to withdraw
Habibie's candidacy".

"The best decision that they can make, in my mind, is to
withdraw Habibie's candidacy, otherwise what is the Rapim
(executive meeting) for?" Soedjati said.

"If they really do want to listen to the aspirations of the
people, I think they should make the presidential election easier
for the person who won the majority of the votes," he said,
referring to presidential front-runner Megawati Soekarnoputri of
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Although it gained the highest number of votes in the June 7
poll, PDI Perjuangan has only 153 of the 700 seats in the
Assembly.

PDI Perjuangan must gain support from other political
groupings if it hopes to put Megawati in the presidential seat.

"I think it is better for Golkar as a whole to get rid of the
image of a party of the New Order. It cannot disassociate itself
from the Soeharto regime, so if it really wants to reform ... But
I think what the people want now is a change," Soedjati said.
(05/byg)