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)