Soeharto okays Hartono's entry into ICMI

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto gave Minister of Information R. Hartono the green light yesterday to join the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI).

ICMI chairman B.J. Habibie said after a meeting with Soeharto that all Hartono had to do before joining the association was submit a formal request to the President.

Habibie met with the President for nearly three hours at Bina Graha presidential office yesterday.

"Hartono needs the President's approval because he is a cabinet minister. The rule also applied to me," said Habibie, who is also state minister of research and technology.

"The President said there was no problem with Hartono's entry to ICMI," Habibie said.

Soeharto is patron of ICMI which was established in 1990.

Hartono revealed his intention of becoming an ICMI during a visit to the Antara news agency office last week.

He said he would have probably joined a long time ago but could not while he was still in active military service.

Hartono capped his military career as Army chief of staff from 1995 before retiring on June 30, 1997.

Habibie said the door was wide open for Hartono to join the organization. The same would apply to other people, he said.

"ICMI's mission has been to improve the quality of the country's human resources ever since its establishment. Therefore, it's not an exclusive organization," Habibie said.

"An ICMI member does not necessarily have to be a university graduate or a Ph.D or a professor. An intellectual is anyone who is concerned about the environment and humankind," he added.

Hartono applied to the association's secretary-general Adi Sasono for membership, according to Habibie.

Habibie said that once Hartono became a member, the association would expect his assistance. "It's normal if ICMI asks for help from each of its members."

Politics

In a long discussion with journalists, Habibie dismissed allegations that ICMI was a political organization.

"The right thing is that I became a Golkar cadre long before ICMI was founded. It's totally wrong to make ICMI a stepping stone to a political position, including a House of Representatives seat," he said.

Hartono's desire to join ICMI has drawn speculation from many observers, saying he would take over the leadership of the association from Habibie, who has been its chairman since the group's founding.

"It is the congress which has the right to choose a chairperson," Habibie remarked.

The next congress will be held in 2000.

Separately, ICMI member Nasir Tamara echoed Habibie's view, saying that a good relationship had been established between Hartono and the association over the past seven years.

"Nobody doubts that he is one of the closest relatives of the ICMI family. He was in control as military commander when we held a meeting to establish the association in Malang, East Java," Nasir said.

Hartono was the East Java military commander from 1990 to 1993.

Nasir denied that political reasons were behind Hartono's move to ICMI.

Another ICMI member, Bismar Siregar, called on the public look positively on Hartono's decision to join.

"Never exaggerate this issue. There is nothing to be suspicious about because Hartono is a faithful Moslem," said Bismar, also a former senior judge.

A Yogyakarta political observer, Djoko Suryo, said Hartono's move could be seen as an effort to gain a higher position, including the vice presidency.

"It's OK, because everybody has the right to reach his or her ideal. Hartono can seek every avenue as long as it is legal and acceptable, meaning that he must be elected by the People's Consultative Assembly and accepted by the next president," Djoko of Gadjah Mada University said. (09/prb/har/amd)