No presidential succession before 2003: Suhardiman

JAKARTA (JP): There should be no discussion of the presidential succession until 2003, said Chairman Suhardiman of SOKSI, an organization which helped found Golkar.

Suhardiman told a press conference yesterday that SOKSI would urge Golkar to delay its discussion on the presidential succession when it begins its annual leadership meeting here today.

President Soeharto is scheduled to open the Golkar meeting.

"Our nation will be ready to talk about the presidential succession in the 2003 session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)," Suhardiman said.

He said by that time the nation would be ready to face globalization and trade liberalization.

Suhardiman is among several people who have asserted that President Soeharto should be renominated for a seventh term.

Eligible Indonesians will cast their votes in the general election next year to elect members of the House of Representatives. The 1,000-member MPR, including 500 House members, is to convene in 1998 to elect a president for 1998 through 2003.

SOKSI was originally a workers union under the Army's patronage. It was set up in the 1960s to counter the growing strength of unions affiliated with the now-outlawed Indonesian Communist Party.

In 1964, SOKSI and several other organizations founded Golkar as their political umbrella. Although Golkar now recruits its members directly, SOKSI has retained its identity, operating as a faction within the ruling political grouping.

Harmoko

Suhardiman yesterday predicted the incumbent Golkar chairman, Harmoko, would be appointed House speaker. He said this would make Harmoko "too busy with the affairs of Golkar legislators at the House of Representatives" to remain its chairman.

Harmoko is registered as a Golkar candidate for the general election next year.

The chairmanship of Golkar would then be vacant, Suhardiman said.

"Somebody else must replace him to run Golkar. In my opinion, Mbak (Sister) Tutut is the best person to do it," Suhardiman said, referring to the nickname of President Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana.

"As Harmoko has a chance to become House Speaker, so does Tutut to chair Golkar," he said.

Golkar has been the dominant political grouping in Indonesia, since President Soeharto came to power in 1966. It has won all five general elections since 1971.

Analysts say that Golkar reigns supreme because of its "historical" support from the Corps of Civil Servants and the Armed Forces. (imn)