Man nominates self for president

JAKARTA (JP): A 70-year-old man from Bandung, the capital of West Java, has named himself Indonesia's next president, declaring his readiness to compete with other candidates in the ballot.

Antara reported that Rusmania, who hails from Kudus in Central Java, made the announcement on Monday, or a day before the opening of the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly. He claimed to be the direct descendant of national hero Diponegoro who fought the Dutch colonialists between 1825-1830, and so also called himself Prince Diponegoro VI.

Rusmania said he had twice named himself a presidential candidate, during the general assemblies in 1988 and 1993. "But they did not invite me to the assemblies and no one paid any attention to my candidacy," he said.

Rusmania said, "it's for my country," when asked why he was nominating himself.

He believed there would be 17 contenders for the post, among them Amien Rais, Gen. (ret) M. Jusuf, Ali Sadikin, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, B.J. Habibie, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, Megawati Soekarnoputri, and himself.