Presidency is not everything to me: Habibie

Presidency is not everything to me: Habibie

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie, facing signs of
increasingly shaky Golkar backing for his presidential campaign,
strove on Monday to convince the public he would not engage in
dirty politics.

"Being president is not everything to me," Habibie was quoted
as saying by Awaloeddin Djamin, chairman of the National Advisory
Council for Education (BPPN), after meeting with the council on
Monday at Merdeka Palace.

"I am willing to become president only in a halal (religiously
acceptable) way," Habibie said, as reported by Antara.

"I would never accept it. I would never feel I was a good
president if methods that brought me there are not good," said
Habibie, who has faced mounting pressure after reports implicated
him in the Bank Bali interbank debt scandal.

Awaloeddin was accompanied on Monday by other council members,
including Mien Uno and Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI)
chairman Ali Yafie.

The ruling Golkar Party, which trailed the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) in the June 7
general election with 22 percent of the vote, is currently
showing signs of an internal split. The party has been divided
into two camps over calls for the removal of chairman Akbar
Tandjung and deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman, who has been
accused of undermining Habibie's chances at the presidential
election.

Akbar threw his weight behind Marzuki, and hinted that Golkar
may reverse its backing of Habibie unless the latter takes a firm
stance on the Bank Bali scandal and investigations into former
president Soeharto's alleged corruption.

On Sunday, Habibie held a five-hour meeting with Golkar
leaders to discuss the party's split and its backing for Habibie
as president for the next five year term. Habibie will face in
the November presidential election PDI Perjuangan's chairwoman,
Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Golkar, a monolithic bloc during Soeharto's rule, split when
12 of the party's 27 chapters warned of a no-confidence motion
against chairman Akbar if no action was taken against Marzuki
Darusman.

The dissenters accused Marzuki of "damaging the integrity and
authority of the party and also the image of the Golkar Party" by
airing the party's dirty linen during meetings with rival party
executives. They also said Marzuki's actions had strengthened the
impression of disunity within Golkar.

They said a public statement Marzuki made on the Bank Bali
scandal, which involved Golkar deputy treasurer Setya Novanto,
had made the public think Golkar had not changed since Soeharto's
downfall. In addition, they sought an extraordinary congress to
replace Marzuki.

Bank Bali paid PT Era Giat Prima, a private company owned by
Setya Novanto, a "commission" of Rp 546 billion (US$80 million)
to help it recover loans worth Rp 904 billion from closed banks.

Newspapers have accused Golkar of benefiting from the money.

After the meeting with Habibie, however, Akbar said the
internal rift was now over.

"There will be no extraordinary national conference ...
Whatever is still unclear, we will clarify later," Akbar said.

He said he did not even mention in the meeting the demand of
the dissenters to convene an extraordinary national congress. He
earlier dismissed the call as "political guerrilla" tactics.

"The President simply instructed that Golkar should abide by
the decisions of its leadership meeting (to nominate Habibie) in
anticipating the General Session of the People's Consultative
Assembly," he said.

Chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council (DPA), AA Baramuli,
was present at the meeting in his capacity as chairman of
Golkar's advisory council. Baramuli had earlier publicly admitted
that he had helped draft the statement demanding the
extraordinary congress.

During the meeting, Marzuki was also given the opportunity to
explain himself. "In essence, Marzuki wants the party to be solid
and for Habibie's nomination for president to be successful,"
Akbar said.

Marzuki has since the beginning been outspoken in his
opposition of Habibie's nomination. He preferred Indonesian
Military Commander Gen. Wiranto.

Separately, political observer Fachry Ali said in the East
Java town of Malang on Monday that if the General Session of the
People's Consultative Assembly saw only two candidates, namely
Habibie and Megawati, then the votes of the Islamic United
Development Party (PPP) would surely go to Habibie.

PPP wanted a male, Muslim Indonesian to be the next president.
It won third place in the June 7 polls with 10.71 percent of the
vote and 59 seats at the House of Representatives. (swe)