Indonesia being watched

With reference to an article by Sayidiman Suryohadiprojo in The Jakata Post, Feb. 20, 1998. I agree with the author's assertion that certain nations, particularly the U.S., do not want to see "an unacceptably stronger Indonesia among nations".

It is natural for a strong nation to want to remain an unrivaled power in this global era. It is also likely that the international community are wary of Indonesia because of our country's past threats to western hegemony when guided by the late president Sukarno. Believe me, the West do not want this nation to rise as a world power.

However, Sayidiman oversimplifies the issue of presidential and vice presidential successions. In saying objections to a Soeharto-Habibie ticket boils down to religion, with Moslem supportive and non-Moslem in opposition, is incorrect. While it might be true from a foreign perspective, I would like to remind the author that the strongest domestic opposition to reelecting Soeharto has come from a prominent Moslem scholar and from political analysts and students, most of whom practice Islam.

I myself am a Moslem. I do not want to see Soeharto reelected, even though he is useful to Islam. Friends of mine, also Moslem, agree with this sentiment.

Habibie, on the other hand, has caused concern among economists with his long-term mega-projects and once made a blundering statement on the relationship between interest rates and inflation. A further blunder of this nature will not be tolerable in our present economic difficulty. So it is natural to question Habibie's suitability for the position now.

CASTANEA A. SYLVA

Bandung, West Java