Habibie rejects call to give up candidacy

JAKARTA (JP): Embattled President B.J. Habibie flatly rejected a call from a powerful alliance of five Muslim-oriented political parties on Wednesday to give up his reelection bid.

"We asked Habibie to reconsider his candidacy in the next presidential election for the good of the nation, but he asserted that he would fight all the way to the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)," said Amien Rais, chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN).

Amien talked to reporters after he, together with chairman of the United Development Party (PPP) Hamzah Haz, founder of the National Awakening Party (PKB) Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, PKB deputy chairman Alwi Shihab, chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) Yusril Ihza Mahendra and chairman of the Justice Party (PK) Nur Mahmudi Ismail, called on the President at his Kuningan residence in South Jakarta on Wednesday morning.

The meeting was also attended by Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Wiranto, slated to be Habibie's vice presidential running mate, and was joined midway by Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung.

While Habibie was receiving the party leaders, thousands of university students returned to the streets to demand the prosecution of former president Soeharto, eradication of corruption, collusion and nepotism, an end to the dual function of TNI and accelerated implementation of political reforms.

The alliance, called the "axis force", with more than 163 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR), has tendered Gus Dur as their presidential candidate, while the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, with 153 seats, put up its chairwoman, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The 500 members of the DPR, which includes 38 appointed members of TNI and the National Police and 200 other legislators representing the provinces and social groups, will form the MPR, the country's highest legislative body.

New DPR and MPR members will be sworn in on Friday.

The MPR will convene early next month to elect a new president and vice president and set the State Policy Guidelines for the next five years.

However, most major parties have demanded that the MPR session be held ahead of the original schedule in order to end the present uncertainty.

"We spoke to Habibie about reassessing his candidacy. We want a situation which is safer and calmer," Amien said in explaining the reason behind the appeal.

But Habibie, Amien added, reaffirmed his determination to press ahead with his bid for the presidency in November.

"Habibie stated that he would abide by whatever is decided by the MPR. That was simply fair," Amien added.

Amien rejected the notion that the appeal implied a demand for Habibie to resign, saying that they have no right to ask a president to quit.

Akbar Tandjung, who was summoned by Habibie to join the meeting with the political leaders, reaffirmed that Habibie remained his party's sole candidate for the coming presidential election.

"I met Habibie later after the meeting with the party leaders but he did not mention anything about the request for his quitting the presidential race," Akbar added.

He added, though, that Habibie's candidacy might still be reviewed at the Golkar leadership meeting in the middle of next month if most leaders of the party's provincial chapters asked for it.

An increasing number of Golkar executives, led by deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman, have demanded that Habibie's candidacy be dropped due to his now slimmer chance of winning the election.

Akbar also acknowledged that public support for Habibie was waning while Golkar needed the support of other parties to win Habibie's candidacy.

At the meeting, Akbar added, the PBB party warned Habibie of the high probability of the MPR rejecting his accountability report.

The PK party, he said, stressed that the next president should be a reformist and possess high moral integrity.

"They even demanded that the Golkar Party, as part and parcel of the New Order (the Soeharto regime), be wholly excluded from the new government," Akbar told reporters.

An informed source at the State Secretariat disclosed to The Jakarta Post that Habibie appeared painfully surprised by the call for his withdrawal from the presidential race.

"Habibie initially thought the party leaders came to brief him on the results of the meeting that the party leaders held with Gen. Wiranto earlier on Tuesday on preparations for the MPR session," the source said.

That is why Akbar later joined Habibie's meeting with the party leaders after he was summoned by the President, the source added.

The source said the party leaders also asked Megawati to join them in the meeting but she refused.

The axis force move stepped up the pressure on Habibie, who has been sharply criticized for his foot-dragging in dealing with high-level corruption which includes allegations against former president Soeharto and against Habibie's close aides in the Bank Bali scandal, and also for allowing a self-determination ballot in East Timor.

Most analysts have warned that the MPR's election of Habibie, who ascended to the presidency by default after Soeharto resigned in disgrace in May, would be a worst-case scenario for Indonesia's social, economic and political life. (prb/05/vin)