Two generals take different political courses
Two generals take different political courses
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Two retired Indonesian Military (TNI) generals took different
political courses on Wednesday, with one eying the presidency and
the other quitting the race.
Former TNI chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, a controversial military
strongman with a questioned human rights record, submitted his
application to become the presidential candidate for the Golkar
party, the country's second largest, on Wednesday, while current
Minister of Transportation Agum Gumelar, a four-star Army general
(ret), decided against running for the Golkar vacancy.
Both had picked up registration forms from the committee
organizing the Golkar convention, claiming their supporters had
encouraged them to contest the election.
Thursday is the deadline for all presidential aspirants from
Golkar to return their registration forms.
At least 12 presidential hopefuls had submitted their bids by
Wednesday. Aside from Wiranto, Coordinating Minister for People's
Welfare Jusuf Kalla and Yogjakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono
X had also returned the forms.
Party chairman Akbar Tandjung, who was sentenced to three
years in jail for corruption, is yet to submit his bid, while
another strong candidate, Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid, has
backed off, citing differences of principles and money politics.
Wiranto said Wednesday that he had decided to join the race on
the back of the failure of the current regime to live up to
people's expectations.
"Five years after the reforms started, elements of the nation
are still unable to ensure justice and safety, and improve
people's welfare," said Wiranto.
"The presidential post is a strategic position, because as
president one will be able to help overcome those problems. In
this light, I am preparing myself to be Indonesia's sixth
president in 2004," said Wiranto without giving any hint as to
how he would address the issues.
Separately, Agum, who is also chairman of the Alumni of the
National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas), said his daily routines
had prevented him from pursuing his presidential ambition.
Agum is also chairman of the Indonesian Soccer Association
(PSSI) and head of the National Sports Commission (KONI).
Agum's withdrawal from the race came only hours after Wiranto
confirmed his participation in the convention.
The Golkar chairman and Wiranto, who still holds significant
influence in the military, are the two leading candidates for
Golkar's presidential nominees.
Despite the fact that both Wiranto and Akbar have wide support
from Golkar's grass roots, the outcome of the presidential
convention is still difficult to predict.
Both Wiranto and Akbar have been dogged by two separate
problems, which may spoil their chances of grabbing the
candidacy.
Wiranto has been accused of being responsible for the violence
and murders in East Timor following the ballot in 1999 that gave
independence to the tiny territory.
Akbar, on the other hand, has been sentenced to three years in
jail for his role in stealing Rp 40 billion that had been
earmarked to feed Indonesia's poorest citizens. He is free
pending appeal.