Harmoko says he won't refuse VP nomination

Harmoko says he won't refuse VP nomination

JAKARTA (JP): Golkar vice presidential candidate Harmoko
asserted yesterday his intention to remain in the race until
Golkar's chief patron, President Soeharto, decided otherwise.

"I won't refuse my vice presidential nomination," he told
reporters after addressing a congress of the Communication Forum
of Indonesian Veterans' Children (FKPPI) in East Jakarta.

Commenting on a suggestion that he first relinquish his
chairmanship at the House of Representatives and the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) before jumping into the vice
presidential race, Harmoko said yesterday he would first discuss
the matter with the Golkar family.

"My nomination is just a preliminary step," said Harmoko, who
is also chairman of Golkar.

Asked whether Golkar would eventually come up with only one
name, Harmoko said the matter would also be discussed in a
meeting of the Golkar family, which includes the Armed Forces
(ABRI) and the bureaucracy.

"Our (the coalition of Golkar, ABRI and the bureaucracy) final
candidate will be decided after we meet with Golkar's chief
patron," he said, referring to President Soeharto.

The meeting was scheduled to take place last night but so far,
no more information was available.

Harmoko is in for tough competition from State Minister of
Research and Technology B.J. Habibie, who has also been named a
Golkar candidate. Furthermore, Indonesia does not have a strong
tradition of multiple vice presidential candidacy.

Except in 1988, the Assembly's five factions have always
agreed to name only one candidate in the vice presidential
elections since 1973. The United Development Party attempted to
break the tradition when it nominated its chairman, Jaelani Naro,
to challenge the then Golkar chairman Sudharmono in 1988. Naro
threw in the towel on the eve of the election.

By convention, prior to the vice presidential election, each
faction will seek approval of its candidate from the elected
president.

The vice presidential election is one of the major agendas of
the Assembly's General Session from March 1 to March 11.

Harmoko said he did not consider Habibie his contender and did
not believe rumors that Habibie and the newly appointed Armed
Forces commander, Gen. Wiranto, had coalesced to facilitate
Habibie in the race.

Wiranto has said he would not be involved in Golkar's meeting
because he was not yet formally installed as the new ABRI
commander.

Wiranto will serve as the Army chief of staff until Feb. 16,
when he will be sworn in as ABRI commander in place of Gen.
Feisal Tanjung.

Chief of the Armed Forces faction in the MPR, Lt. Gen. Yunus
Yosfiah, said the Armed Forces would try to settle any
differences regarding the vice presidential nomination.

Yunus, the outgoing Armed Forces chief of sociopolitical
affairs, refused to confirm whether ABRI would choose one of the
two candidates proposed by Golkar.

Another Armed Forces representative in the MPR, Lt. Gen.
Syarwan Hamid, said the faction would not go out of its way to
nominate a candidate with a military background.

"We'd rather choose a candidate for his or her capabilities,"
said Syarwan, also the Assembly's deputy speaker.

Chances

Golkar's treasurer, Bambang Trihatmodjo, said both Harmoko and
Habibie stood an equal opportunity for the vice presidency.

However, he suggested that discourses on the vice presidency
be delayed until a new president is elected.

Bambang, also chairman of the FKPPI, said the organization
would not parrot other organizations which had announced support
for certain individuals.

"We'll channel our aspiration to Golkar," he said.

Separately, Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman
Djojonegoro, head of Golkar's council of experts Marwah Daud, and
Golkar legislator Andi Mattalata said they favored Habibie to win
the second-top post.

"He has a great chance," said Wardiman, known to be close to
Habibie and a colleague in the Association of Indonesian Moslem
Intellectuals (ICMI). He refused further comment.

Marwah, also an ICMI member, praised Habibie for his
commitment to democracy, national unity and human resources
development.

"Don't worry, he won't discriminate against the minority if he
is elected second in command. He loves the country very much,"
she said.

"Our future generation will feel regret if we fail to promote
such a skillful person for the vice presidential post," she
added.

Andi suggested Harmoko give way to Habibie, saying that the
latter had already gained wide support from the public.
(har/imn/amd)