Habibie is 'Golkar's best of the worst'

Habibie is 'Golkar's best of the worst'

JAKARTA (JP): The incumbent President B.J. Habibie is the best
of the worst presidential candidates of the ruling Golkar party,
a political lecturer said, while four others who were previously
named as possible candidates pose a higher risk of fragmentation
within the party.

His chance of another term, however, is small because on the
national level he is not popular, Ichlasul Amal, rector of Gadjah
Mada University said in Yogyakarta.

Yogyakarta's revered monarch and governor, Sultan
Hamengkubuwono X, and one of four Golkar candidates for vice
president, Ichlasul said, is only influential in Central and East
Java.

The other previous presidential candidates which are now vice
presidential candidates are Coordinating Minister for Economy,
Finance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Minister of Defense
and Security/Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Wiranto and
former minister/state secretary Akbar Tandjung.

Golkar named Habibie its sole presidential candidate in an
executive meeting on Friday, despite internal criticism that the
nomination would instead harm the party's chances in the June 7
election due to the incumbent President's past close ties with
his ousted predecessor Soeharto.

The People's Consultative Assembly mandated Habibie to
investigate Soeharto's alleged corrupt, collusive and nepotistic
practices during his three decades in power. Habibie has faced
criticism for foot dragging in the investigation.

The 700-member Assembly will elect a president and vice
president in December.

Party officials said Golkar chapters from Sumatra wanted
Akbar, who hails from the island, while one from eastern
Indonesia said naming Habibie, who is from South Sulawesi, as
sole candidate would be "the only chance to get a president who
is not Javanese".

Ichlasul implied Habibie was not popular given his economic
and political policies. Economically, the simple parameter of a
successful government would be "if people could eat three times a
day" while politically, "there are some who like and many who
dislike his polices", he said without elaborating.

Presidential aides have said anyone in the presidential seat
would have a hard time dealing with the crisis.

Ichlasul added naming Habibie as sole candidate may gain
Golkar some positive international clout, citing his policy on
East Timor.

In Semarang, Soetandyo Wignyosoebroto, a professor of law at
Diponegoro University, lamented Golkar's nomination of Habibie,
saying Habibie had been unable to resolve a myriad of cases,
including political violence and the investigation into
Soeharto's alleged corruption.

Soetandyo, who is also member of the National Commission on
Human Rights, said Habibie's nomination would only make Golkar
even more unpopular.

"By naming Habibie its sole presidential candidate, it will be
very difficult for Golkar to jack up its share of the vote during
the elections," Soetandyo said.

Death knell

Meanwhile critics said Habibie's nomination sounded the death
knell of the current reform movement.

On Friday founder of the National Awakening Party (PKB),
Abdurrahman Wahid, had said his party would coalesce with the
National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) in an effort to prevent "forces of
the status quo" prevail in power.

Two retired generals, Ali Sadikin and Kemal Idris, said the
reform movement would end if Habibie was elected president for
the next five-year term.

"Who is Habibie? He is a symbol of the corrupt, repressive New
Order," Ali said after attending an ex-servicemen's gathering
here on Saturday.

Kemal, former commander of the Army's Strategic Reserves
Command (Kostrad), said proreform political parties should
coalesce to win the general election to foil Habibie's
presidential bid.

"The reform movement must go on and democracy must be upheld
in order to overcome the prolonged crisis and to end the people's
suffering," he said.

Another retired general, Edi Sudradjat, who chairs the Justice
and Unity Party (PKP) separately said that Golkar "should review"
its decision, adding the nation's leader should be someone who
could be trusted.

However, another political observer from Hasanuddin University
in the South Sulawesi capital of Ujungpandang, Darwis, said on
Saturday that Habibie was quite popular in the area.

He cited his recent survey that the South Sulawesi-born
Habibie was widely known in the province and other areas in
eastern Indonesia.

Another poll reveals that Habibie is deeply unpopular, his
support languishing at about 7 percent compared to about 30
percent for opposition leaders Megawati Soekarnoputri of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and Amien Rais of the
National Mandate Party.

In Surakarta, Central Java, Golkar chairman Akbar pledged the
party would fight to make a success of the Habibie
administration's anticorruption drive, to enable extra points for
his race for the presidency. (27/44/har/45/byg/rms)