Ical looks certain to again lead Kadin

JAKARTA (JP): Aburizal Bakrie looks practically certain to be reelected chairman of the Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) on Thursday after most participants at the chamber's national congress were united in their support for him on Wednesday.

On the second day of the congress, most Kadin members, including those grouped in the Association of Young Indonesian Businessmen (Hipmi), backed proposals to renominate Aburizal, widely known as Ical, for a second five-year term.

Kadin is to elect a new chairman for the 1999/2004 term at the end of its three-day congress, in a ballot of the chamber's provincial branches (Kadinda).

"More than a half of all Kadinda members agreed to nominate Ical again, the rest did not mention any other names," Melky Suebu of the Irian Jaya Kadinda said on the sideline of the congress' commission meeting.

Melky said the Irian Jaya Kadinda chose to nominate Ical, who is also the chairman of diversified Bakrie Group, because he personally officiated at the opening of the province's chamber six days before the congress.

"I appreciate his attention to us. Besides I can't think of any other names," he said.

Other people said that Ical was the only name that had been put forward because others had not declared their willingness to participate in the election.

"There are actually a lot of candidates, everyone wants to be elected, but nobody has the guts to nominate themselves," said Oesman Sapta, the chairman of the West Kalimantan Kadinda.

"We can only nominate someone, if the person has declared himself a candidate, according to Kadin's regulations," Oesman said.

Before the congress, several names were mentioned as possible challengers Ical in Thursday's election, including noted South Sulawesi businessman Yusuf Kalla; the chief commissioner of the Kodel Group, Sugeng Saryadi; and former transmigration minister Siswono Yudohosodo.

Siswono declined to be nominated on Tuesday, stating that he had been away from the private sector for more than 10 years and only returned after he left the Cabinet in March.

"Since the business sector is progressing rapidly in new conditions that I'm not familiar with, the new chairman should be someone who knows the current conditions and problems of the private sector," Siswono, who has emerged as one of the government's staunchest critics since March, said in a statement.

Hipmi was the last to nominate Ical as the chairman on Wednesday after it initially supported Sugeng Saryadi, who is a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party.

Sugeng downplayed his earlier nomination, saying that democracy had to be upheld in Kadin's election.

A noted businessman who requested anonymity, however, hinted on Tuesday that money might have passed hands to influence voters.

On Tuesday, almost 50 people claiming to represent the Indonesian Board for the Investigation of the Wealth of Government Officials and Businessmen staged a protest in the backyard of Sahid Hotel, where the congress took place.

The group criticized Kadin for failing to support economic decentralization, and for failing to help small and medium businesses. It also urged Kadin members not to reelect Ical because he "is heavily indebted to the tune of billions of U.S. dollars".

Most businesses in Indonesia have been facing difficulties paying their offshore debts since the currency crisis hit the country in July last year, causing the rupiah's value to fall by more than 60 percent against the U.S. dollar. (das)