Habibie says he needs no political brokers

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie said on Wednesday that he would get rid of people within his circle who were acting as political brokers, saying that they were the cause of the tragic downfall of his two predecessors, Soeharto and Sukarno.

"I don't want the same thing to happen to me," Habibie said in a joint interview with TVRI and RCTI.

"Both men resigned in an unsavory manner," he said.

He said the brokers operate to serve their own interests.

He did not identify who the brokers were, either in the past or present administrations.

Habibie did not deny the possibility that some of his close aides may have their own political agendas, stressing that they have rights as well as duties.

"We work in a democratic way. Every person has rights and duties. They may have their own agendas, but when they work in a team, they have to carry out their duties -- that is to implement the Cabinet's agenda, which I've been honored to lead."

Habibie said he planned to make a day trip to Kuala Lumpur next month to attend the summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. "Since we have no vice president, if the people allow me to represent the country, I will depart the country in the morning and come back in the evening."

The interview was the first given to Indonesian TV channels since Habibie became president in May. While the interview was being aired, RCTI ran a phone-in survey and received around 1,600 callers.

Habibie scored high on all four questions posed. Sixty four percent said he met people's expectations, 55 percent said he has made the country safer, 62 percent said they approved of his economic policies and 60 percent said they approved of his political agenda. (edt/emb)