Presidential contenders keep Habibie on his toe

By Kornelius Purba

JAKARTA (JP): What is President B.J. Habibie's chance of winning the presidential election? The result of Monday's general election will help determine that, but some people around him play a significant role in ensuring a smooth trip to the presidential seat.

Among those is Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung who, after his resignation as minister/state secretary on May 13 gained a significant political leverage. Habibie now has to please Akbar so Golkar will not change its mind about nominating the President. There are also several people who are Habibie's serious contenders because Golkar, too, has named them vice presidential candidates.

Akbar may have seemed pensive and was even tearful during the transfer ceremony of his position to Minister of Justice Muladi, but he felt relieved afterward.

"Good luck," Habibie said then with a big smile before kissing and hugging the tearful Akbar during the ceremony at the State Palace.

"I shall return," Akbar assured the President, his voice cracking with emotion, while his wife Krisna Maharani hugged First Lady Hasri Ainun Habibie.

Palace officials and their wives then hastened to pay special attention to Muladi, who also keeps his first post, and wife Nany Ratna Asmara. Krisnina stood by herself while Akbar made a farewell statement to journalists.

Akbar's resignation from the cabinet was required by the General Elections Commission (KPU) if he wanted to campaign for his party during the election campaign period, which ended on Friday.

"Pak Habibie is Golkar's best and sole candidate for the next presidential election," Akbar insisted then.

Two days later Golkar nominated Akbar as a vice presidential candidate along with three other figures: Minister of Defense/Indonesian Military Chief Gen. Wiranto, Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita and Yogyakarta monarch Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.

One of Akbar's aides said Akbar felt much better after he resigned because it gave him more independence before the President. He also felt he was now free of pressure from people closest to Habibie.

"Pak Habibie's most trusted people often act as if they are more important than ministers," the aide said after the transfer ceremony.

The aide, who worked for Akbar while he was still state minister for youths and sports in the early 1990s, described his boss' support for the President as a "flexible" arrangement.

Habibie's camp apparently realized that the President was actually dependent on pleasing Akbar at a certain capacity as Golkar's chairman, because Habibie did not have a line of command with Golkar.

Palace officials then arranged Akbar to accompany the President as often as possible, so the two could be "emotionally closer".

"They spoke in German, so actually I did not know what they were talking about," Akbar complained when journalists asked him about the President's meeting with a German delegation, which Akbar attended.

On May 14, Golkar leaders endorsed Habibie's nomination despite opposition from some of Akbar's top aides in the party including Marzuki Darusman.

Marzuki has openly said Wiranto was better than Habibie, due to Habibie's poor track record in the past and his inability to investigate former president Soeharto.

"I do not want to make any comment about the nomination," Wiranto said late last month after meeting with Habibie at Merdeka Palace.

Wiranto told his close friends recently that personally he was not close to the President, but he would remain loyal to him as the country's constitutional leader.

When he was a colonel, Wiranto served to then president Soeharto as an adjutant for four years until 1993. He was often made to wait for up to five hours while Habibie, then state minister of research and technology, chatted with Soeharto. Palace officials have described the period as among the most boring for Wiranto.

"Pak Wiranto still often meets with Pak Harto," one of Soeharto's aides said last week.

The aide said Soeharto and his six children actually still prefer Wiranto to Habibie as the leader of the country. The former first family complained Habibie had abandoned and left them unprotected, the aide said.

Stumbling block

It is likely that on Monday evening, after the preliminary result of the voting is announced, Habibie's fate will likely become clear.

Apart from the opposition groups, who are Habibie's most serious contenders? Golkar cadres, especially the four vice presidential candidates, some analysts have said.

The four do not only have the potential to be the second man, but even to replace the President himself. Some said it was not likely the Sultan would agree to work for Habibie as they practically have no contact at all.

But palace officials said one of the President's most serious problems was how to manage his "inner circle cronies".

They pointed their finger at Development Inspector Fuadi Rasjid; Minister/State Secretary's Assistant of Foreign Affairs Dewi Fortuna Anwar; and Secretary of Development Operations Lt. Gen. (ret) Sintong Panjaitan.

Vice President Secretary Ahmad Watik Pratiknya, and Jimly Assidiqie, the vice president's assistant for people's welfare and poverty alleviation, are also included on the list.

"They may well become an asset for him, but if he cannot manage them properly, they may become a liability," said a senior palace official early this month.

Sources said the President was very surprised when he read a one-page advertisement on the People's Sovereignty Party in Kompas daily on May 27, announcing its endorsement for the Minister of Cooperatives Adi Sasono as its presidential candidate.

"Adi is his most trusted minister in the cabinet," said an official.