Habibie says only God knows about his future promotion

Habibie says only God knows about his future promotion

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Research and Technology J.B.
Habibie said only God knows whether he will become vice
president.

Habibie gave this diplomatic reply yesterday to a question by
a local ulema in Probolinggo, Central Java, on the possibility of
his being nominated vice president in 1998.

"People can make plans but it is Allah who decides," remarked
Habibie, who is seen by analysts as a strong candidate for the
post.

Habibie himself has not declared his true aspirations.

This sensitive question was asked during the question and
answer session of Rabithah Ma'ahid Islamiyah, a gathering of
leaders of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) of Nahdlatul
Ulama.

NU is an influential Moslem organization with an estimated
loyal following of over 30 million, traditionally rooted in the
rural areas.

While NU has officially committed itself not to delve in
practical politics, its strong following make it a force which
can not be easily dismissed by politicians.

NU's clout was evident by the presence of President Soeharto
who opened and addressed the meeting on Saturday.

As reported by Antara, Habibie, who is not a member of NU,
yesterday addressed the forum as the head of the Indonesian
Association of Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), an organization set
up only in 1990 which already wields great political clout.

Yesterday, Habibie refused to give a straight answer. He only
said that it was more important to think of serving the country
rather than thinking of "what we can become."

"I have been accompanying Pak Harto in the field of technology
for 22 years and 10 months. That for me is honor enough and I am
grateful. As for other matters, well, people can plan but Allah
will decide," said German-educated Habibie.

While most political observers are more or less convinced that
75-year-old Soeharto is likely to be nominated and elected for a
seventh consecutive presidential term, the vice presidency
remains a big question mark.

Golkar has also neglected to specify criteria, as they did for
the presidency, for persons whom they think qualified.

Apart from Habibie, Golkar chief and Minister of Information
Harmoko is sometimes said to be vice presidential candidate.

Members of the People's Consultative Assembly will gather in
1998 to choose the next president and vice president.

During yesterday's session, Habibie continued to dodge the
question, saying it's better "to look at where we are at now and
see what we can do to improve things from that position."

During his presentation, Habibie also tried to appease
concerns about possible competition between ICMI and the
pesantren.

He argued that as a strong Islamic force in the country, ICMI
will not compete with but rather complement Islamic institutions.

One of the executives of the pesantren association, Yusuf
Muhammad, who acted as moderator in yesterday's discussion with
Habibie, closed the talks with a prayer that the minister may be
more useful to the nation in the future. (mds)