'Habibie's got slim chance for VP post'

'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)