'Succession fever' sweeps through corridors of power

'Succession fever' sweeps through corridors of power

KEBUMEN, Central Java (JP): Political analyst Abdurrahman
Wahid said Saturday that as the general election nears,
"succession fever" is sweeping through the corridors of power in
Indonesia.

"This fever can ease or worsen the political jostling. The
outcome is still difficult to predict," he told The Jakarta Post
after addressing a seminar at the Nahdlatul Ulama Institute for
Islamic Studies.

Gus Dur, as Abdurrahman is known, said that Indonesian
politics are so tricky that it is impossible to predict if the
People's Consultative Assembly will elect a new president in
1998.

Eligible voters will cast their ballots in 1997. Succession of
national leadership has been a burning issue but 73-year-old
President Soeharto appears to have no contender at the present.

Gus Dur dismissed as "too hasty" speculations that Harmoko,
the chairman of the ruling party Golkar and incumbent minister of
information, and Soeharto's daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana,
have a chance at the post of vice president.

Gus Dur, who leads the 30 million member Nahdlatul Ulama, said
that the democratization of Indonesia is also difficult to
predict.

"Democratization is important to make an honest, just, clean
and open government as well as responsible citizens," said Gus
Dur, who also leads Forum Demokrasi.

On a separate occasion, Harmoko told Golkar supporters in
Cilacap, Central Java on Saturday night that he was optimistic
Golkar will retain power in 1997.

Even though he called it "unethical" to discuss succession at
present, he said he was optimistic that the next president will
be from Golkar.

"I will not name a name, I'm optimistic that the next national
leader will be Golkar's best figure," he told a gathering of
thousands of Golkar members in Cilacap's town square.

Harmoko said it is unethical to discuss succession because
only the People's Consultative Assembly has the authority to
elect the president and vice president.

He declined to comment on what he thought about a Golkar
member's statement that he had a good chance of securing the vice
presidential post. "Everything is up to the Assembly," he said.

Debate on the succession issue has been raging since chairman
of the Supreme Advisory Council Sudomo recently claimed that he
knew Soeharto wanted a civilian to be the next vice president.

Sudomo's claim also sparked controversy with advocates saying
that Soeharto's protege sharpened the sensitive civil-military
dichotomy in Indonesian politics. (har/wah/pan)