Syarwan 'not in conflict' with Harmoko

JAKARTA (JP): Former Armed Forces Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid denies competing against Golkar chief Harmoko for the House speaker position.

Syarwan will represent the Armed Forces faction in the House of Representatives.

He said over the weekend that he and Harmoko were friends, and he would gladly concede if the latter won.

"I'm not in conflict with Harmoko," he said.

He said it would not be a problem for him if Harmoko was chosen to be House speaker.

"I must accept reality if Harmoko wins the majority support of House members," he said.

Five hundred members of the House will be sworn in on Oct. 1, after which they will elect the House speaker and his or her deputies.

Syarwan is reportedly running against Harmoko for the leading position in the House.

He said last week that the speaker's seat was still up for "grabs" because legislators still had a month to lobby each other for support.

Traditionally the speaker's post has been occupied by the leader of the political party or faction which holds the most seats in the House. The spot has always gone to the head of the dominant Golkar faction.

Syarwan, who will join the unprecedented crash course for new legislators Tuesday, is widely rumored to have a chance of becoming House speaker for the 1997/2002 term.

But Armed Forces Chief. Gen. Feisal Tanjung seemed to dismiss these rumors last week when he said that Syarwan would be assigned a deputy House speaker post and Harmoko the House speaker seat.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono also said last week that Harmoko deserved the House's top job.

After holding the job since 1983, Harmoko was abruptly replaced by R. Hartono as Minister of Information in June, and made State Minister for Special Assignments.

Harmoko led Golkar to a sweeping victory in the May general election capturing 74 percent of the vote.

On Harmoko's declining popularity with some Golkar members, Syarwan said this did not represent Golkar's wider voice.

Golkar legislator Manginsara Marcos Lubis recently said Harmoko's inability to communicate "harmoniously" with President Soeharto was to blame for the Broadcasting Bill's return to the House for further revision.

"It was a small problem. Golkar will remain solid as an organization," Syarwan said.

Separately, former minister of home affairs Rudini said Saturday that it was unethical for Lubis to publicly criticize Harmoko's performance.

"He should have brought up the issue at Golkar's internal meeting, not in a House open forum," Rudini said, suggesting Lubis be held accountable for the statement by Golkar executives.

Harmoko arguably also lost face last month when Golkar faction chief Moestahid Astari announced that Golkar would renominate Soeharto as President at the general assembly of the People's Consultative Assembly next March.

Moestahid's move preempted Harmoko who had yet to make an official statement on the matter. (imn)