Habibie's mixed-up ancestry

Habibie's mixed-up ancestry

To be forthright about one's ancestry is a laudable attitude to take. Unfortunately, Habibie is adopting this stance at the very time when everyone knows he has ambitions to be elected President of Indonesia for the 1999-2004 term. His present claim to be descended from an aristocratic Javanese family very clearly demonstrates his desire to acquire that highest seat of power. We regard his recent pilgrimage to his great-grandfather's grave to have been inspired more by political considerations than personal ones, as it properly should have been. It was a rudimentary way of trying to win the affections of the Javanese.

All this gives us a lack of confidence in this presidential aspirant. There is no better way, therefore, for us to respond to this latest move by Habibie than to pity the man. There is also a contradiction involved in his move: In eastern Indonesia, (a region which staunchly supports Habibie), A.A. Baramuli is fervently campaigning for this native son of Sulawesi. In Jakarta, on the other hand, Habibie is proudly advertising his Javanese ancestry. Our question is: Why are the advisers around Habibie letting their man continue to make such fatal blunders?

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta