Succession predicted to go smoothly
JAKARTA (JP): A cabinet minister's prediction that Indonesia will be safe after President Soeharto is no longer in power found support from a top military official and senior politician yesterday.
Armed Forces Chief for Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid and chief of the United Development Party Ismail Hasan Metareum said Indonesia's best and brightest son would eventually shine when Soeharto fades from the political scene.
Syarwan and Metareum were separately commenting on the prediction by State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie, President Soeharto's confidant.
"In the eyes of the Armed Forces, currently no other figures in the country match President Soeharto. But I believe that the right person will appear as his replacement when the right time comes," Syarwan said.
Habibie said Wednesday that there was no need to worry about how national development and politics would fare once Soeharto and the 1945 Generation of current leaders are no longer in power.
Maintaining that there would still be sustainable development and political stability after the 1945 Generation era was over, Habibie called on both local and foreign investors not to worry about starting or continuing their investment in Indonesia.
The "1945 Generation" refers to people who took part in the struggle for independence. Soeharto is one of the few leaders still in power from the generation.
Habibie, who leads the powerful Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), is one of several leaders that political observers believe have the ambition to become the next vice president.
The presidential election will take place in March 1998. Soeharto has already secured strong support from numerous organizations under the dominant Golkar political organization and Moslem groups.
Unchallenged
Soeharto has been in power for 30 years unchallenged. It is widely expected that he will retain his post. The speculation is who will be elected vice president.
Metareum said his Moslem-oriented party supports Soeharto because the President has proved to be able to maintain national stability and develop the economy.
"I agree with Habibie," he told journalists. He also agreed that Indonesians need not worry about who will be their next president after Soeharto.
There won't be any political chaos during presidential succession, as some people predict, he added.
On the vice-presidential candidacy, Syarwan said the post is open for all eligible Indonesian citizens from both civilian and military backgrounds.
He added, however, to become a vice president, one has to be acceptable to all spectrums of the Indonesian society and must have an international reputation as a statesman.
He denied speculations that the Armed Forces has collaborated with ICMI on who they would support for the vice-presidential post.
"We, the Armed Forces, believe the most important thing is to guarantee that the process of succession takes place constitutionally. (imn)