No agreement on Habibie's VP nomination, ABRI says

JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces dismissed yesterday speculation that its faction in the People's Consultative Assembly had joined the dominant Golkar and the Regional Representatives factions to support State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie's nomination for the vice presidency.

The Armed Forces (ABRI) chief of sociopolitical affairs, Lt. Gen. Yunus Yosfiah, said there had not been any agreement on the matter among the three factions.

"We (the three factions) have not come to such a decision yet," he said after addressing a seminar on Tritura, the establishment of the New Order government in 1966, at the Ministry of Manpower.

Yunus, also chief of the Armed Forces faction in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), said there would have been a formal announcement if the three allied factions had reached any decision on anyone's vice presidential nomination.

Yunus also insisted that the Armed Forces faction would name its presidential and vice presidential candidates only during the MPR general assembly in March.

"ABRI wishes to listen to the people's aspirations on the future state leadership before making its decision," he said.

Commenting on the suggestion of the National Brotherhood Foundation that the MPR nominate Vice President Try Sutrisno, rather than President Soeharto, for the 1998/2003 presidency, Yunus said: "It's their right to do so."

Members of the 1,000-strong MPR will convene from March 1 to 11 to elect a president and vice president and endorse the 1998/2003 State Policy Guidelines.

Many people believe that next March's presidential election will once again be a one-horse race as Soeharto has the estimated support of at least 850 of the 1,000 MPR members.

The 850 are legislators from Golkar and their traditional allies from the Armed Forces and the Regional Representatives factions.

The same three factions will also control the race for the vice presidency, as any name they announce will likely win the ticket for the country's second top position.

So far, 13 people have been nominated as vice presidential material and already registered at the MPR, including Habibie.

Other names are incumbent Try, Minister of Defense Edi Sudradjat, Minister of Information R. Hartono, State Minister of National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita and House Speaker Harmoko.

Also included on the list were Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Wiranto, Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, human rights campaigner Baharuddin Lopa, President Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, Moslem leader Amien Rais and chairman of the United Development Party Ismail Hasan Metareum. (imn)