Mahfud prefers civilian successor

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Caretaker minister of defense Mahfud MD said here on Sunday that he hoped President Megawati Soekarnoputri would appoint a civilian should he be replaced.

"The ministry should be led by a civilian just as most defense ministries all over the world," he said.

He considered political party' figures, particularly members of House of Representatives Commission I for political affairs, defense and security, eligible for the post.

"They are familiar with the issues of defense, the military, and politics. This leads me to believe that they are competent," he said, adding that each political party may have already groomed its candidate for the post.

Mahfud was speaking at a breakfast with Yogyakarta-based journalists at a sidewalk food kiosk inside the compound of Gadjah Mada University.

He maintained that the government had improved its image over the past two years by allowing a civilian to fill the post of defense minister.

Mahfud is the second civilian to hold the defense minister position after Juwono Sudarsono. Under the rule of Soeharto's New Order, the defense ministry was the domain of the military.

When asked whether he was prepared to complete his term until 2004, Mahfud was reluctant to answer.

"I don't want to comment on this, because it would insinuate that Ibu Mega has offered it to me, while she is still busy composing her Cabinet," he said.

Responding to many observers who predict the return of the military to politics, Mahfud said he remained hopeful that reform within the Indonesian Military would continue with the help of the Ministry of Defense.

"Whoever the minister of defense will be, he or she should maintain TNI as a state apparatus, not a political vehicle of the center of power," he said. (23)