President hopefuls encouraged

SURAKARTA, Central Java: Former home affairs minister Rudini said no laws would be violated if President Soeharto is re- elected to a seventh term as president in 1998.

Rudini, who now heads a research and study center, told the Post that "if the People's Consultative Assembly elects President Soeharto again, there's no problem".

In addition, "there's also no laws forbidding other people coming up with their own candidates", he said. "We should be optimistic that there will be other candidates supported by the people," he said.

He called on the public not to discourage potential candidates by comparing them with Soeharto's skill and experience. "The more candidates that emerge, the better, and we'd better not compare them with Pak Harto," he said. (har)