Habibie to chair Golkar's board of patrons meeting
Habibie to chair Golkar's board of patrons meeting
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie, in his capacity as the
executive chairman of Golkar's board of patrons, will chair a
board meeting this evening at the political organization's
headquarters on Jl. Teuku Umar, Central Jakarta, Minister/State
Secretary Akbar Tandjung said yesterday.
Former president Soeharto, the chief patron of the board,
will, however, not be present.
Soeharto will be represented by his deputy, former vice
president Try Sutrisno.
The board is comprised of 14 members.
"The meeting will be headed by Pak Habibie in his capacity as
coordinator of Golkar's board of patrons, and on this occasion
the views of the chief patron (Soeharto) will be conveyed by
deputy chief Pak Try Sutrisno," Akbar said after meeting with
Habibie at the Bina Graha presidential office.
Akbar, also the secretary of the board, said the meeting's
agenda would focus on preparations for Golkar's extraordinary
congress.
The three-day congress will start here Thursday.
Soeharto vetoed a planned Golkar meeting for last Monday which
would have been attended by representatives of Golkar's Big
Family, which includes the Armed Forces, bureaucracy and the
country's 27 provincial governors.
Soeharto told Habibie, through Try, that such a meeting should
be proceeded by a meeting of the board of patrons.
Try said later that Monday's planned meeting was in violation
of Golkar's procedures.
However Try's statment was separately refuted by Akbar who
said the planned meeting had been conducted in accordance to
proper procedure.
This evening's patron board meeting will discuss six subjects,
including finding the best way to maintain Golkar's unity,
strengthening confidence among its cadres, new statues and in-
house rules to reflect the reform spirit and preserving and
improving Golkar's infrastructure and facilities built over its
34-year existence.
Akbar did not elaborate on what he meant by Golkar's
facilities, but Soeharto chairs the Dakab foundation, established
in 1985 to provide financial support for Golkar. Its assets are
worth Rp 836.20 billion. (prb)