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)