Wiranto insists on presidential bid

YOGYAKARTA: One of Golkar's presidential aspirants, former military chief Wiranto, dismissed on Monday a possibility of running for the vice presidency if his bid for the presidency failed.

The retired army general, who was fired from his Cabinet post by then president Abdurrachman Wahid in the wake of the East Timor investigations, said he was not seeking a Cabinet post.

"It would be better for me to find other ways," he said when questioned if he failed to win enough support from Golkar.

Wiranto visited Yogyakarta, his hometown, to promote his newly launched book "Testimony Amid the Storm".

He said that only by assuming the presidency would he have a chance of improving the crisis-battered country.

Wiranto is among 19 figures who have passed the Golkar screening to contest the national convention to select the party's presidential candidate. The candidates are now campaigning throughout the country. -- Antara