PPP nominates Habibie

PPP nominates Habibie

JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party (PPP) formally
endorsed B.J. Habibie yesterday for the vice presidency and
dropped its boss, Ismail Hasan Metareum, from the candidates
list.

The Moslem-oriented party's choice is understood to boost
Habibie's chance to clinch the position for the 1998/2003 term.

"Eventually, we decided to come up with a single candidate for
the vice presidency, Pak (Mr.) Habibie," Metareum said after
presiding over the PPP leadership meeting in a Central Jakarta
hotel.

Habibie, now the state minister for research and technology,
has secured support from the government-backed Golkar. The
powerful Armed Forces (ABRI) faction also hinted last week it
would back him.

Beside Habibie, Golkar also put forward its chairman Harmoko,
whose other hat is speaker of the House of Representatives.

The minority Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) has not
announced its choice but Habibie is among figures on its
unofficial list of preferences.

Fatimah Achmad, chairwoman of the House's PDI faction, said
last night that she, PDI chief Soerjadi and Secretary-General
Buttu Hutapea met with Habibie yesterday to discuss the party's
preferences. She said PDI would officially announce its
candidate(s) today.

PPP also reaffirmed its support for Soeharto for president,
which it formally announced on Jan. 23.

The party has 133 representatives in the 1,000-strong People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR). The dominant Golkar has 585 members
and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) 16. The rest are
representatives of the military, regions, and various groups --
which are understood to be Golkar supporters.

President Soeharto, who has been in power for 32 years, is set
to retain his post for the seventh consecutive term in the
Assembly's general sessions scheduled from March 1 to March 11.

All three political organizations, Golkar, PPP and PDI -- as
well as the Armed Forces -- have announced their strong support
for Soeharto's renomination. No contender has emerged.

Metareum decision to pick Habibie was based on a set of
additional criteria that President Soeharto gave him, such as
"able to maintain national unity, assist the President and be a
master in science and technology."

"The President did not mention any names but we believe that
Habibie is the figure who meets most of the requirements," he
said, adding that Habibie has accepted the backing.

On party executives' decision to remove his name from the list
of vice presidential candidates, Metareum said he was aware that
Habibie met the criteria better than he did.

Metareum, who is also a deputy House speaker, won praise from
party supporters when he said he would run for the vice
presidency.

Some observers have speculated that Metareum's decision to bow
out has to do with the fact that he is a member of the
Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), which
Habibie chairs.

But Metareum denied it, saying that what PPP leaders had in
mind was the best for the country.

He also brushed aside fears that Habibie's vice presidential
candidacy would be met with negative reactions from the
international stock markets, resulting in another plunge in the
value of the rupiah as happened recently.

He said he was aware of critics' objections to Habibie
becoming vice president because the minister is often accused of
"wasting the state budget on megaprojects".

Last week, Habibie hit back at Singapore's former prime
minister, Lee Kuan Yew, who warned that Indonesia's choice for
vice president would be crucial to its efforts to overcome the
worsening economic crisis.

Metareum also lashed out yesterday at the former prime
minister's comments.

"If we are fascinated by such statements, we will never be
able to choose our own leaders. Vice presidency has nothing to do
with dollars and we don't heed Lee Kuan Yew's views," he said to
the thunderous applaud of the PPP leaders at the meeting.

When asked if the PPP was absolutely sure Habibie would
eventually win the vice presidency, Metareum said: "What we are
supposed to do is to propose a candidate and whether our
preference will be accepted (by the People's Consultative
Assembly) is something else."

Golkar Secretary-General Ary Mardjono said executives from the
political grouping would come up with only one candidate.

When the time comes, they will consult the president-elect on
whom he would like to pick, Antara reported.

"When the president-elect has made his choice, then the
unfavored candidate should accept it," he said.

Ary said Golkar did not want to see a repeat of an incident
during the 1988 Assembly's general sessions in which a vice
presidential candidate, H.J. Naro from PPP, refused to step down
even though the president-elect had named his choice. (pan/amd)