Soeharto will choose next vice president: Amir

JAKARTA (JP): The President will ultimately choose the next vice president, Golkar former chairman Amir Murtono said yesterday.

He said the constitution and a House of Representatives decree had given the President this authority.

"Our constitution rules that the elected president has the final say," Amir told reporters at his home yesterday.

Amir, also a former deputy House Speaker, said he believed Soeharto would be reelected as President for a sixth consecutive term.

"Therefore, the decision on our next vice president will rest mainly with Soeharto," he said.

Amir, who is close to the President, said that it was tradition that the president selected the vice president.

He recalled the appointment of Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX in early 1973 as vice president.

"It was Soeharto who asked Sri Sultan to become the vice president," he said.

Sri Sultan was the first Indonesian vice president in the New Order government. He helped President Soeharto from 1973 to 1978.

Amir said Soeharto had appointed Adam Malik as the New Order's second vice president.

Adam Malik, who came from North Sumatra, served Soeharto from 1978 to 1983.

Amir, who led Golkar for two consecutive terms from 1971 to 1977 and from 1977 to 1982, said the central board of the dominant Golkar grouping discussed its candidates for vice president with President Soeharto before their decision was released to all members of Golkar.

"You should remember that President Soeharto is chairman of Golkar's board of patrons," he said, when asked why Golkar should discuss its candidates with the President.

But Amir said that people outside Golkar should not hesitate to name their vice-presidential candidates.

"People are free to name their candidates. Nobody has the authority to prohibit them from mentioning names," he said.

He guaranteed that Soeharto would listen to the people's suggestions, saying that the President was a very thorough person, who would carefully evaluate candidates.

"The President has many staff to monitor and gather input from the people," he said. "So careful is his evaluation that people are sometimes impatient to find out its results."

Amir refused to say if it was possible for Try Sutrisno to be reelected as vice president.

But, he said, there had been no significant problems between Soeharto and Try during the first three years of this five-year presidential term.

"Try was one of Soeharto's adjutants. He must have known the President very well," he said. (imn)