PDI Perjuangan 'unlikely to pick' Wiranto as partner

PDI Perjuangan 'unlikely to pick' Wiranto as partner

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) hinted on Sunday that it was unlikely to pick
Minister of Defense/Indonesian Military Commander General Wiranto
as the vice presidential running mate of Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The party's vice chairman, Laksamana Sukardi, who is also a
noted economist, said the market would show a negative reaction
to the party's nomination of Wiranto for vice president.

"I think the market's reaction would not be good," Laksamana
said.

However, he declined to say if the party had already ruled out
the possibility of pairing Megawati with Wiranto.

"I have no comment. The party's leaders will decide it," he
said.

He also noted the fact that the Golkar faction, the MPR's
second-largest faction, had chosen Wiranto as the vice
presidential running mate for Habibie made it difficult for PDI
Perjuangan, winner of the June elections, to pair Wiranto with
Megawati.

Golkar has selected Wiranto to partner Habibie at the latter's
request.

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) will choose the
president on Wednesday and the vice president on Thursday.

So far, factions at the MPR have proposed Habibie, Megawati
and Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid as presidential candidates, with
Wiranto the only vice presidential candidate listed.

Some analysts believed that Megawati had also courted Wiranto
as her vice presidential candidate, given the fact that she had
made statements several times which did not oppose the military's
dual function role.

Wiranto said in an interview with a Singaporean paper last
week that the military would not retreat from the political scene
soon because the move could lead to instability, citing a
tendency of the country's political parties to put group
interests above national interests.

Wiranto declined to say if he would accept Golkar's selection
of him.

"If I am involved in talking about the subject, it can be
interpreted differently by various segments of the political
community," Wiranto told the paper.

Several analysts, including Singapore's Prime Minister Goh
Chok Tong, have said the role of the Indonesian armed forces in
support of a civilian president is crucial.

Goh said last week that Western countries, especially the
United Sates, admitted this factor.

Laksamana admitted the crucial role to be played by the
military in support of the future civilian administration but, he
said the military had to play its role "proportionally and
effectively to maintain the order of the state".

He said PDI Perjuangan's top priority, would be to take
efforts to improve the tainted image of the military in its
governmental program.

"We'll do our utmost to help. It's a priority to restore the
image of the military in Indonesia," Laksamana said.

Separately, PDI Perjuangan's vice chairman, Dimyati Hartono,
also hinted that the party did not like the military playing a
role in the government until it completed its self-reform under
the so-called "reposition and redefinition program".

"We don't expect the Indonesian Military to play key roles in
the government until it reestablishes its status as the guard of
the nation," Dimyati said. (jsk/rms)