Habibie told to have moral ethics on his presidential candidacy

JAKARTA (JP): Observers called on President B.J. Habibie over the weekend to have the moral ethics to withdraw his presidential bid if his accountability speech is rejected by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

Senior political analyst Mochtar Pabottinggi of the National Institute of Sciences said that if the speech was rejected, it would be "politically irrational" for Habibie to insist on pushing ahead with his candidacy.

"This would be totally irrational if the accountability speech is rejected but, he or she could still runs for president," Mochtar told The Jakarta Post.

Under the current system, there are no formal implications if the president's accountability report is rejected. The incumbent still has the right to be nominated and elected.

However, law professor Soetandyo Wignjosoebroto of Airlangga University, Surabaya, said that if the speech was rejected, it would be "politically unethical" for Habibie to insist on the candidacy.

"We should not base everything on a written document. We also have to consider whether the decision is politically correct," Soetandyo said.

Crescent Star Party chairman Yusril Ihza Mahendra said that it would be political suicide if the incumbent continued with his bid for the presidency, having had his accountability rejected.

"It's true there is no formal ruling which forbids him from continuing to run, but what are the chances of the same people who rejected his report, voting him in as president a few days later?" he asked.

Four of the 11 factions in the MPR have flatly rejected Habibie's accountability speech, which was delivered on Thursday night.

The four -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the National Awakening Party, the Indonesian Nationhood and the Love the Nation Democratic Party -- said Habibie failed to account for many of the issues which remained unresolved during his 16-month tenure.

Only one faction, United Ummat Sovereignty, signaled its outright acceptance of the speech.

Six other factions, including the Golkar Party of Reform, indicated reservations over the speech but fell short of stating whether they would reject it.

An MPR commission will now deliberate the accountability report and return its conclusions to the MPR plenary either on Monday or on Tuesday. (byg)