Syarwan Hamid set to occupy seat in House

JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid confirmed yesterday that he would take a seat in the House of Representatives for the 1997-2002 term.

But he quickly dismissed speculation that he would compete with Golkar chairman Harmoko for the post of House speaker.

Syarwan topped the list of 75 high-ranking officers who will occupy the House seats reserved for the Armed Forces.

Five military commanders are on the list. They are Maj. Gen. Sedaryanto of the Bukit Barisan military command overseeing Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Riau; Maj. Gen. Tayo Tarmadi of the Siliwangi military command overseeing West Java; Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo of the Brawijaya military command overseeing East Java; Maj. Gen. Abdul Rivai of the Udayana military command overseeing Bali, Nusa Tenggara and East Timor; and Maj. Gen. Namoeri Anoem of the Tanjungpura military command overseeing Kalimantan.

Armed Forces personnel do not vote in general elections. The May 29 election gave Golkar 325 House seats, the United Development Party 89 and the Indonesian Democratic Party 11.

The next 500 legislators in the House will begin their term on Oct. 1.

"As an Armed Forces member, I am ready to play my role wherever I am appointed," Syarwan said after speaking at a seminar on administrative reforms.

He downplayed the possibility that his entry to the House would lead to a race against Harmoko for the legislative body's top post.

"I don't think I'm a strong candidate, nor do I feel I am a weak one," he said. "Nobody will win or lose in this matter. And I remind you all, I do respect Harmoko."

Harmoko led Golkar to its record win in the May general election. If he is elected, Harmoko will become the third civilian to lead the House after Idham Chalid and Adam Malik.

Last month, President Soeharto appointed Harmoko, who had been minister of information for 14 years, as the state minister of special assignments whose portfolio is to run a crash course for the new legislators.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono tipped Harmoko yesterday as the hot favorite for House speaker.

"He deserves the House's top job because he is chairman of the party which won the election. Logically, his supporters, who will rule the roost in the House, will nominate him for the position," he said.

Moerdiono confirmed that Harmoko would enter the House on Oct. 1 when he ends his short tenure as state minister of special assignments.

Political observer Juwono Sudarsono said there was nothing wrong with an active military officer becoming House speaker.

"But the decision as to who will be elected the next House Speaker will mainly rest on the legislators," Juwono said after the opening of a two-day seminar on regional autonomy at the National Resilience Institute.

Juwono said there was no guarantee that a civilian would be a democratic House speaker.

"Some examples abroad have shown that civilian governments can be authoritarian," he said.

Juwono, also deputy governor of the resilience institute, a military think tank, said there should not be a civilian-military dichotomy over the House Speaker candidacy.

"The most important thing is that the candidates care for and support ongoing democratization," he said.

Political analyst Arbi Sanit of University of Indonesia said that, even if elected, Syarwan would not introduce change to the House. (35/imn/amd)