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)