Man nominates self for president

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.