'Soeharto fits Golkar's criteria'

JAKARTA (JP): The ruling political organization Golkar did not necessarily refer to incumbent President Soeharto when it announced a set of criteria for the next president, according to political observer Rudini.

Rudini, who is also a former home affairs minister, said yesterday he was sure the major political grouping must have had more than one presidential candidate in mind when it drew up the nine-point criteria for assuming the presidency.

"Golkar must have considered everything that could happen in the future. That's why it did not mention any names that it would support for president," Rudini said in his office.

"Golkar wouldn't want to take any risks. What if it named only one candidate and then something wrong happened to this person," said the chairman of the Institute for Strategic Studies of Indonesia.

In its political statement delivered during its 32nd anniversary Sunday, Golkar said the future president must have vision on how to maintain unity in this very diverse nation. The person must also be accepted by all groups in society, possess leadership qualities recognized both at home and abroad, and be experienced in implementing the ideals of the New Order government.

The political statement did not mention age as a criteria.

However, Rudini conceded that President Soeharto would still occupy the highest position on the nomination list.

"Pak Harto meets all the requirements set by Golkar," he said.

Rudini said opportunities still abound for other people.

"We can believe that Golkar must have prepared several other names as candidates for the presidency," he said. "The person occupying the first position would become president, while the second on the list would become vice president."

He predicted that Golkar would still win next year's general election, with at least 65 percent of votes.

Golkar chairman Harmoko said yesterday that the political grouping's criteria for a vice president would be based on the 1945 Constitution.

"The most important thing is that (the candidate) must be able to cooperate with the elected president," he said.

He declined to explain further, saying only that the criteria and candidates for vice president would be prepared only after a new president was elected in 1998.

"Golkar will only name its candidate for the presidency through its faction at the House of Representatives," he said. "Later, all factions in the House will discuss possible candidates for vice president with the elected president."

Harmoko, who is also minister of information, dismissed speculations that President Soeharto, should he be reelected for a seventh term in 1998, would resign before the five-year term ended.

"In my opinion, Pak Harto would complete his mandatory five- year term," Harmoko said.

"However, there's no need to worry. Golkar's candidates for vice president would be people with the capacity to step into presidency anytime," he said.

He insisted that the post of vice president was by no means less meaningful than that of the president.

"We should not differentiate between the posts of president and vice president, as both are governed by the Constitution," he said. "The vice president plays an important role, because his function is to supervise senior government officials."

Meanwhile, another statement of support for the renomination of President Soeharto was given yesterday. Yesterday, executives of the Indonesian Builders Association asked President Soeharto to indicate his willingness to be renominated in the general meeting of the People's Consultative Assembly.

The body will convene in 1998 to elect a president and vice president, and to endorse the State Policy Guidelines for 1998- 2003.

"We are ready to make the general election next year a success and to ensure that national leadership remains in the hands of the New Order government," the association said.

"We therefore asked President Soeharto to indicate his willingness to be renominated," chairman Agus G. Kartasasmita told reporters after meeting President Soeharto at Merdeka Palace.

A number of Golkar-affiliated mass organizations and individuals, including a number of cabinet ministers, had expressed their support for Soeharto's renomination.

When asked about Soeharto's response, Agus said that the President only nodded and smiled. (imn)

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