ICMI members want Habibie to retain chair

JAKARTA (JP): The congress of the Indonesian Association of Moslem Intellectuals is still two months away, but support for the reelection of B.J. Habibie to lead the influential organization has started to pour in.

"I would choose Pak Habibie any day," declared Adi Sasono, a leading member of ICMI central board. "He's an effective leader, an intellectual who is able to translate concepts into actions at the grassroots."

"He is a person with strong commitment, able to establish practical agenda...he's very competent," Adi gushed in an interview with The Jakarta Post earlier this week.

The Jakarta branch, which accounts for 50 out of the 343 units of the organization, expressed similar support in August. Spokesman Tamsil Linrung put forward arguments similar to those of Adi's about why Habibie should be reelected.

"To be honest, we don't see any other person who fits the bill as ICMI chairman," Tamsil has said.

On Wednesday, it was the turn of the Central Java branch to voice their support for Habibie, who is also state minister for research and technology.

"We have not seen any (potential) candidates other than Habibie," branch spokesman Rofiq Anwar was quoted by Antara as saying.

He acknowledged that there has been criticism that the election of Habibie as chairman when ICMI was established in 1990 "was not in accordance with the principles of democracy".

However, in subsequent activities Habibie has more than displayed his capabilities and has met "requirements" to be reelected, Rofiq argued.

So far, there has only been one voice against Habibie's reelection. Legislator A.M. Saefudin has called on the organization not to choose Habibie, because the man, often dubbed "super minister", should be reserved for the more important position of "statesman".

ICMI will hold its four-day, Rp 2 billion (approximately US$890,000) congress in December. A total of 1,000 leading members from across the country and abroad are expected to participate in the gathering which will be opened by President Soeharto.

Sources have said that it is likely the existing branches will declare their support for the reelection of Habibie at the outset of the gathering, thereby eliminating the need for an election for a chairperson altogether. (swe)