'Habibie's got slim chance for VP post'

BANDUNG (JP): The chances of B.J. Habibie, a protegee of President Soeharto, clinching the vice-presidential post in 1998 are slim, a former general predicted yesterday.

Lt. Gen. (ret.) Soebijakto, a former governor of the National Defense Institute, argued that Habibie was not a national leader whose career path came from the "bottom".

Habibie was catapulted to officialdom thanks to his close relationship with President Soeharto, Soebijakto said after addressing an Islamic Students Association seminar.

Habibie, a German educated technocrat, is the State Minister of Research and Technology and chairman of the politically well- connected Association of Indonesian Moslem intellectuals (ICMI).

He is one of several figures that local mass media speculations have eyed the vice-presidential post. Others include Army Chief Gen. Hartono, State Minister for National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita and the incumbent Vice-President Try Sutrisno.

Of the four, Habibie is the only one without a military background.

Indonesia will elect a new president and vice president in 1998. So far President Soeharto has been overwhelmed with support from various quarters to run again. He not met any serious challenge.

"The future president is predictably Pak (Mr.) Harto again. Remember that the People's Consultative Assembly (which elects president) is dominated by the ruling Golkar party," Soebiyakto said.

"So what is up for debate is the vice presidential post," he added.

Soebijakto said it was hard to predict who would finally win the vice-presidential race. (17/pan)