Habibie's nomination draws mixed reactions

Habibie's nomination draws mixed reactions

JAKARTA (JP): Golkar's nomination of incumbent President B.J.
Habibie as its sole presidential candidate has prompted mixed
comments over the move's impact on the ruling party's share of
the vote in the upcoming June 7 general election.

A political analyst contacted on Friday said Habibie's
nomination would harm Golkar, but another disputed this.

"Golkar is just trying to be unpopular. Its decision proves
that the party is doing nothing to improve its image," said
political researcher Joe Fernandes of the Institute for Policy
and Community Development Studies (Ipcos).

"Habibie epitomizes the old (regime), what more could people
expect from him? Unless Golkar is playing with fire, there is no
way the nomination could influence voters," Fernandes said.

He added that it is now simple to judge which parties Golkar
would cooperate with after the elections: parties which had also
nominated Habibie, "platforms regardless," he said.

The People's Sovereignty Party and the Democratic Islam Party
are among parties contesting the June polls that have supported
Habibie's nomination as the next president.

Another observer, Salim Said, said Golkar leaders must have
considered their moves.

"They must have thought that their decision was the right one.
They must have been sure that Habibie is popular in eastern parts
of Indonesia. In my recent trip to Ujungpandang (the capital of
South Sulawesi) for instance, I observed that some parties
mentioned Habibie as their presidential candidate to attract
voters," Salim said.

The German-educated Habibie, 62, known as a technology expert,
was born in Pare-Pare, a small town north of Ujungpandang.

However, Fernandes maintained Habibie was not a popular
candidate.

He referred to Golkar deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman's
recent revelation of Golkar's reluctance to name Habibie its sole
candidate before its May 13 to May 14 meeting.

"Marzuki has been more rational," Fernandes said.

On Wednesday, Marzuki said the nomination of Habibie as
Golkar's presidential candidate had long been contingent on the
corruption probe into former president Soeharto, Habibie's
mentor. Habibie took over from Soeharto on May 21 last year
following relentless student demonstrations against the latter's
regime.

Habibie's administration is thought to have been dragging its
feet in investigating Soeharto's alleged crimes.

Salim said that although it might be true in Jakarta that
Habibie was unpopular, the situation in other areas could be
entirely different.

Golkar has in the past always picked Soeharto as its sole
candidate for presidency. Under the retired general, Golkar
witnessed landslide victories in all six elections since 1971.

Salim said that many people put a lot of weight on the
perception that security and order were maintained during all the
time that Golkar was in power.

"Many things could still happen in the time to come, many
which could change people's minds," Salim said.

All the condemnation of Golkar might not be enough to affect
the party's traditional support base, he said.

"So Habibie's nomination does not necessarily have a direct
impact on vote tallies," Salim said.

However, Salim said that it was possible that the upcoming
General Session of the 700-member People's Consultative Assembly
in December would fail to choose one of the current presidential
candidates.

"There will be a lot of negotiations to reach a compromise.
Don't rule out the possibility that there will emerge a president
by default rather than by design," he said. (aan)