Government says no plans to expedite MPR session

JAKARTA (JP): The government on Friday poured cold water on suggestions to bring forward the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

After consulting with President B.J. Habibie at Merdeka Palace, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid told journalists that there were no plans to advance the General Session from its original schedule.

"After consultations, we did not come up with a new plan. We shall continue with the schedule as agreed with the General Elections Commission," Syarwan said.

The first phase of the General Session, the swearing in of members of the Assembly and House of Representatives (DPR) will be held on Oct. 1, with proceeding sessions, including that to elect a new president, expected in November.

Several prominent politicians, including Golkar's outspoken Marzuki Darusman, recently suggested the scheduling of the General Session be accelerated so a new president with unquestioned legitimacy could be elected.

In a related development, Syarwan also disclosed that the five seats in the Assembly allotted to regional representatives from East Timor would be terminated given that the civilian administration is no longer functioning.

"So the number of regional representatives would be reduced by five," he said.

Regional representatives were to fill 135 seats, five for each province, in the 700-member Assembly.

However, according to Syarwan, the four elected legislators for East Timor in the House would still be sworn in.

Habibie

In a related development, a senior party official said on Thursday that the ruling Golkar party will look again at whether to support the election of beleaguered President B.J. Habibie,

Habibie, backed by Golkar for the post earlier this year, has come under fire for a domestic banking scandal and the calamity in East Timor, and many analysts have written off his chances in November's presidential election.

Golkar deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman told The Jakarta Post by phone that a meeting of the party's executives on Monday night had decided to review Habibie's chances of winning.

"The final evaluation will be made in a meeting that will take place sometime around Oct. 15," he said.

Marzuki, on the reform wing of the party and widely seen as opposed to Habibie's nomination, said the President's chances would hinge on the outcome of the Bank Bali scandal, the furor over East Timor and the drawn-out investigation into former president Soeharto's alleged corruption.

"If the evaluation of Habibie's performance is generally unsatisfactory, the possibility looks good for Golkar to drop his candidacy," Marzuki said.

Earlier in the day in Bandung, Marzuki said that Golkar, whose winning streak in six consecutive general elections was broken by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle last June, had been trying to help Habibie fix his failing image.

Indonesia has come under tremendous international and domestic pressure over the alleged military-backed brutality in East Timor, where international troops are now being deployed to bring peace to the former Portuguese colony.

Habibie has also been linked to the controversy surrounding a large fee paid by Bank Bali to a company headed by a senior Golkar official apparently for help in collecting outstanding loans.

Opposition politicians allege the money was earmarked for Habibie's presidential campaign. He denies the charge.

Marzuki said Golkar had yet to name a prospective substitute for Habibie. "Our position now is to stick to the party decision to nominate Habibie," he said.

When asked about the possibility of naming Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Wiranto, Marzuki said such a choice remained wide open.

"Frankly speaking, Pak Wiranto has no chance. But if we find no alternative but him, we won't hesitate to support him," Marzuki said.

Meanwhile, Wiranto denied reports that he would step down next month as military chief to run for president.

"It is only a rumor and it is not an official statement," Wiranto told reporters after speaking at a political discussion here.

Wiranto was responding to a report in Singapore's Straits Times newspaper that said he would resign so he could join the presidential race.

The newspaper said in a report from its Jakarta correspondent that Wiranto would give up operational command of the military to current deputy chief Admiral Widodo A.S. in order to pave the way for the ruling Golkar party to name the military leader as its new presidential candidate. (05/33/43/prb)