Soeharto-Habibie duo in next month's elections

Soeharto-Habibie duo in next month's elections

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Research and Technology B.J.
Habibie has a clear run-in to the vice presidential elections,
now that his main rivals have bowed out.

The People's Consultative Assembly compiled, at the request of
various groups, a list of 14 leading figures whom it viewed as
potential vice-presidential contenders, during its three-month
session which concluded last month.

Among those listed alongside Habibie were incumbent Vice
President Try Sutrisno, House Speaker Harmoko, State Minister of
National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Minister of
Information R. Hartono, former Armed Forces Commander Gen. Feisal
Tanjung and his successor Gen. Wiranto.

The leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), Soerjadi,
revealed yesterday that Habibie had been the only candidate, from
seven public figures named by his party, to accept nomination for
the second top post.

Top PDI executives, including Soerjadi, met Habibie in his
office at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of
Technology (BPPT) on Jl. M.H. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, Sunday.

"He (Habibie) thanks us for our trust in him and pledges to do
his best in all the jobs demanded by the Constitution, if he is
elected", Soerjadi said after naming Habibie as the party's sole
candidate for the vice presidency.

The minority party named Try, Habibie, Hartono, Ginandjar,
Feisal, Wiranto and Soerjadi as potential candidates following a
leadership meeting in Bogor, West Java, last week. Support for
the incumbent President Soeharto's renomination was also
confirmed during the same meeting.

Good

Soerjadi said the other candidates had opted out of the
contest for various reasons.

"Pak Try thinks that the tradition of having a vice president
in office for a single five-year term is good. He wants to
maintain that tradition," Soerjadi said following a meeting with
Try at the Vice Presidential Palace yesterday.

President Soeharto has had a different vice president in each
of his last five terms. His running mates have been Sri Sultan
Hamengku Buwono IX and Adam Malik (both deceased), Umar
Wirahadikusumah, Sudharmono and Try.

However, Soerjadi refused to give details when questioned on
the other candidates' motives for refusing the nomination.

"One says he wants to concentrate on his new post, while
another says he is already busy with his present jobs," Soerjadi
said.

Separately, newly installed Armed Forces Chief Gen. Wiranto
said he refused to stand for the vice presidency because he did
not want to neglect the trust vested in him in his new post.

Former student activist Djusril Djusan, who chairs the
Association of Members of the 1966 Student Movement (IKBLARH), a
loose collection of former student activists who opposed
communism and former president Sukarno's administration, told
reporters after meeting with Wiranto yesterday that the new Armed
Forces Commander wished to focus on maintaining order during the
General Session of the Assembly next month.

"Please, give me the opportunity to carry out my new duty,"
Wiranto was quoted by Djusril as saying.

Djusril met Wiranto to discuss public participation in
securing the General Session of the People's Consultative
Assembly, scheduled for Mar. 1 to Mar. 11. The 1,000-member
Assembly will endorse the state policy guidelines and elect a
president and vice president during the five-yearly session.

Asked whether Wiranto's statement was a signal to smooth the
way for Habibie, Djusril said: "There was not any discussion of
that".

Ginandjar threw in the towel last week, saying he did not fit
the bill and that his position as chairman of the Golkar faction
in the Assembly would cause a conflict of interest. (byg/amd)