Ical looks certain to again lead Kadin

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)