Soeharto, Habibie must be given a chance: Amien

JAKARTA (JP): Moslem leader Amien Rais called on the nation yesterday to give Soeharto and B.J. Habibie a fair chance to end the economic crisis after they are elected president and vice president respectively next month.

Amien, who chairs the 28-million-strong Muhammadiyah organization, urged the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) -- which elects the president and vice president -- to give them six months before passing judgment on what they had achieved.

Soeharto's renomination for a seventh term in office and Habibie's success in the vice presidential race are a forgone conclusion after all five factions in the Assembly unanimously backed them.

"The Assembly will surely reelect Pak Harto as president, with Pak Habibie as vice president. People will certainly accept it and so will I as a democrat," Amien, a self-proclaimed presidential candidate told reporters.

Amien suggested that the next president and vice president should relinquish their mandate given them by the people through the Assembly if they fail to mend the battered economy.

"Then, we'll figure out the next step to take," he said after addressing a fifth anniversary function at the Center for Information and Development Studies (CIDES).

Founded on Jan. 25, 1993, CIDES is the think-tank of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals chaired by Habibie, who did not show up yesterday.

Amien's remarks were an elaboration of the statement he made when addressing the function, in which he said: "... we'll have to find another solution, should they (Soeharto-Habibie) fail to solve the crisis in six months."

"This will be their chance for the government to make a good ending," Amien said to the 800 guests attending the function.

Also addressing the gathering were CIDES Secretary-General Adi Sasono and the vice chairman of the center's advisory board, Lt. Gen. (ret) Sayidiman Suryohadiprojo.

Among the public figures attending yesterday's function were former Jakarta governor Lt. Gen. (ret) Ali Sadikin, former state oil company Pertamina president Lt. Gen. (ret) Ibnu Sutowo, former state minister of environment Emil Salim, Armed Forces Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Yunus Yosfiah and his assistant Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Amien warned that failure to overcome the current economic turmoil may result in political upheaval.

"So everyone would do well to watch closely what comes after the General Session. If prices of basic foodstuffs continue to soar, while people's purchasing power continues to weaken, people will go hungry and become angry. This could spark an upheaval," he said.

Amien said the least the next government should do was to keep prices of basic foodstuffs, such as rice, and fuel "as low as possible".

When asked if he was pessimistic about the Soeharto-Habibie ticket, Amien said: "I'm neutral. All I want to say is let's give them a fair chance.

On his presidency bid, Amien said the chance was "almost nil", but added that he would pursue the goal after the session, referring to MPR's General Session that lasts from March 1 through March 11.

Sayidiman, in his scientific oration Reviewing the National Development Paradigm: The Need for Sustainable Development, underlined the fact that the current crisis showed that the Indonesian economy was not as strong as the nation had claimed.

This, he said, was due to the government's inconsistent approach to the economic management principles the New Order government set out at its outset.

Weaknesses can also be found in human and societal development as well as inadequate attention to political development, he said.

"These manifest themselves in a weak sense of discipline, a dysfunctional legal apparatus, widespread corruption, weak skills and morality, excessive executive power and ineffective supervision by the legislature." he said. (aan)