ITB students, teachers want succession

ITB students, teachers want succession

BANDUNG (JP): Most Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)
students and lecturers said in a recent poll they wished to see a
new president soon.

Students said they favored Moslem leader Amien Rais as the
next president, while lecturers said they would prefer Vice
President Try Sutrisno to succeed.

Poll organizer Ardi P. Utama of the college's Ganesha magazine
said here yesterday that 800 questionnaires were distributed and
645 were returned. Five hundred and fifty-five of ITB's 8,000
students responded to the poll along with 95 lecturers.

Ardi said 93 percent of the students wanted state leadership
succession. In addition, 95 percent of the students and 84
percent of the teachers said they had no confidence in the
efforts the government was making to restore the economy.

Ardi also said that 24 percent of the students and 18 percent
of the teachers wanted political reform in order to overcome the
current crisis which they believed was caused by shortcomings in
the administration (45 percent of students, 25 percent of
teachers).

Eighteen percent of the surveyed students and 34 percent of
teachers also blamed poor supervision for the crisis.

Preferred leaders for both groups were toppled leader of the
Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Megawati Soekarnoputri, Moslem
leaders Amien Rais and Abdurrahman Wahid, Vice President Try
Sutrisno and State Minister of Research and Technology B.J.
Habibie.

Student activists from other universities such as Gadjah Mada
University in Yogyakarta have organized similar polls in the past
few years, which Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman
Djojonegoro once criticized as lacking scientific rigor.

Separately, ITB Rector Lilik Hendrajaya commented on
statements of concern over the current crisis issued by alumni.

He said the former students who did so were acting in their
private capacities and their statements did not by any means
represent the views of the college.

Two different groups of alumni issued statements Tuesday on
the crisis; one group said it did not want President Soeharto to
be reelected for another term, while the other offered
suggestions of ways of dealing with the crisis. (23)