Harmoko again awarded 1996 Man of the Year

Harmoko again awarded 1996 Man of the Year

SEMARANG (JP): Minister of Information Harmoko accepted
yesterday the 1996 Man of the Year award from Suara Merdeka, the
leading newspaper in Central Java.

This is the second such award given to Harmoko, a former
journalist, by Indonesian newspapers. The first one he accepted
came last week from the Republika daily in Jakarta.

Harmoko was constantly in the news in 1996, either in his
official capacity as minister for information or as chairman of
Golkar, the ruling political group.

The minister made a brief stopover in Semarang last night on
his Ramadhan safari tour to visit backward villages in Java.

In his acceptance speech, Harmoko underscored the need to
instill the ethics of healthy political competition in
Indonesia's pluralistic society.

Political sportsmanship was one such ethic which he said
should replace the tradition of toppling one another.

Harmoko stressed Indonesians needed a leadership figure
"similar to the one we now have" to achieve the national goal of
a just and prosperous society in accordance with the Pancasila
ideology.

He cited the chief statesmanship quality of the present
leaders their ability to place the interests of the nation above
the interests of individuals or groups.

He did not specifically name President Soeharto. (25/emb)