The Man in Suharto's Shadow

Andreas Harsono 

The Nation 

There is no guarantee that Indonesia's new vice-president, BJ Habibie, will eventually succeed Suharto. Despite being elected in a carefully-scripted vice presidential election, many believe that BJ Habibie may not succeed President Suharto although Habibie's supporters, who are mostly members of the influential Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI), vow they will do their utmost to champion the 61-year-old engineer. 

Lt Gen Yunus Yosfiah, the chief of socio-political affairs of the Indonesian military, has openly displayed the military's support for Habibie. "It's a big mistake if the nation does not take advantage of one of its best sons who has an excellent mastery of science and technology," he said. 

Yosfiah, who led a delegation of officers to meet Suharto to discus Habibie's nomination, said, "He [Suharto] also underlined that Habibie has a vision on national and international affairs." 

But many others doubt whether Habibie has the quality to be the No 1 man in the world's fourth most populous country. 

Retired general Hasnan Habib said in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel that Habibie is a "100 per cent yes man". 

Television host and political commentator Wimar Witoelar added that the power of President Suharto is "so absolute" that whoever is the vice president will be "overshadowed", adding that Habibie is not a political factor to be considered seriously. 

He believed Habibie will have difficulties in getting the support of the powerful Indonesian military should Suharto be incapacitated some day. 

Suharto, however, is among those who favours and speaks highly about Habibie. He once said that Habibie is a "great blessing" to Indonesia. 

Born in a remote village near the southern Sulawesi town of Pare-pare, Habibie won a scholarship from the Indonesian government in 1954 to study aircraft construction engineering in Aachen, Germany. After obtaining a doctorate in 1965, he joined the Hamburg-based Messerschmitt Boelkow Blohm (MBB) aircraft manufacturer. 

In 1974, Suharto, who had known Habibie since the energetic engineer was a teenager in the southern Sulawesi capital of Ujungpandang, asked him to return home to help develop Indonesia's hi-tech industries. 

With Suharto's support, Habibie set out to build costly "strategic industries" ranging from steel plants to biotechnology in 1978. 

His pet project was the IPTN aircraft-manufacturing company, which is building a turboprop commuter plane and developing a US$2 billion national passenger jet. But it wasn't until 1991 that Habibie's role in politics skyrocketed when he was elected ICMI chairman. 

Critics said the influential Muslim group was created to balance the Indonesian army which has shown growing opposition to Suharto's rule. 

He soon became the busiest cabinet member in Indonesia, holding 26 different positions, from the Islamic organisation to Golkar's ruling party, from hi-tech firms to the honorary chairman of a cancer hospital. 

However, most of his projects, including the PAL ship-building company and IPTN, became a massive drain of state resources, resulting in an ocean of red ink. 

"All of his projects have failed," said Witoelar, adding that he "cannot see what Habibie can do after Suharto passes from the scene".  

Indonesian academician-cum-dissident George J Aditjondro, who conducts a special project to monitor corrupt officials in Indonesia, alleged recently that Habibie's wife, sons and siblings had used Habibie's influence to win tenders in projects under Habibie's patronage. 

Muslim columnist Adi Sasono, a close associate of Habibie who looks after the day-to-day affairs of ICMI, conceded that such an allegation did exist but said he had once asked Habibie about it. "Only two per cent of the contracts are going to his family," said Adi. 

Both Adi and Muslim leader Ahmad Sumargono, an ardent supporter of Habibie, also admitted that Suharto's children had initially opposed their father's choice, saying that the influential children, who have the ear of their father, doubted whether Habibie could protect their interests in the post-Suharto period. 

Sumargono said it is normal that Habibie spends a lot of money for his projects. He said these projects - from the development of Batam Island to the construction of the airplanes - are huge in nature. 

"IPTN has recently won tenders to sell its planes in the US," boasted Sumargono, adding that there were only two countries in the world which could penetrate the US airplane market - Israel and Indonesia.

Protesters mark Suharto 're-election'

ANDREAS HARSONO 

The Nation 

JAKARTA -- A few hours after being sworn-in to his seventh five-year term in office, Indonesian President Suharto, Asia's longest-serving ruler, held a thanksgiving party and gave a rare unexpected interview with state-owned TVRI television. 

Suharto, who has never conducted a press conference or allowed reporters to interview him since the 1970s, stopped and talked for a while with two TVRI reporters in front of his spacious house on Cendana street in the posh Menteng area of Jakarta yesterday. 

''I would like to express my gratitude to the Almighty One and to the people of Indonesia, who had trust in me, through their representatives at the People's Consultative Assembly, to lead the nation once again,'' the 77- year-old leader said. 

''This is a very heavy duty, especially that we are now having various crises but I believe that the Indonesian people will not leave me struggling alone. I believe that they will support me to overcome the crisis,'' he chuckled.

He called on the people to start doing their ''topo broto'' -- a Javanese idiom which translates as doing something ascetic such as fasting or working hard in order to fulfil a wish. The idiom can also mean to live with concern. 

Not all Indonesians share his idea. Students and intellectuals reacted angrily with his carefully-scripted re-election, saying the Assembly is nothing but a rubber-stamp institution whose members were mostly hand- picked by Suharto himself. 

They held protests in their campuses nationwide, from Jakarta to Yogyakarta to Bandung, the hotbeds of student movements, and even in smaller cities like Padang and Lampung on the west coast of Sumatra. 

''Down with Suharto, down with Suharto,'' cheered students at the prestigious Indonesia University in Jakarta. 

''Our pattern is going up and up. The other day we had only hundreds. We moved again and had thousands. Today we will mobilise 10,000 students,'' said student leader Amril Chaniago.  

The 1,000-strong assembly also officially elected a close aide to Suharto, the 61-year-old BJ Habibie, Indonesia's technology tsar, as the new vice-president, replacing the outgoing Try Sutrisno. 

Critics here and abroad frequently said the carefully-scripted presidential and vice-presidential elections are merely to show the outside world that Indonesia has a legal and democratic mechanism to run the country. 

In fact, Suharto has the legal power to appoint around 80 per cent of the assembly members and has installed most of his sons, daughters and cousins, as well as close aides. 

Habibie is also his hand-picked deputy. Assembly Speaker Harmoko, another Suharto associate and the chairman of Suharto's Golkar party, led the swearing-in ceremonies himself for both Suharto and Habibie.

Many believe yesterday's ceremony is likely to mark Suharto's last election. 

Indonesia is on the brink of a serious economic collapse as its currency has lost almost 75 percent of its value to the American dollar. 

The International Monetary Fund last week decided to delay the disbursement of its US$43 billion package to bail out the ailing economy. 

On the Indonesian Christian University campus in Jakarta, around 100 students put on a play with students clad in mummy-like dresses. Each wore a letter which read ''Demokrasi'' as if trying to send a message that democracy is dead in the country. 

Although in his swearing-in speech, Suharto rhetorically pledged that he would like to seek support as well as criticism from the public, whether it is delivered politely or bluntly, the Jakarta police, did their business as usual. 

A human rights worker told The Nation yesterday that the police had officially charged nine activists with the notorious subversion law whose maximum penalty is death. The nine, who include Indonesian film director Ratna Sarumpaet, tried on Tuesday to hold a meeting in a Jakarta restaurant but only managed to talk for five minutes before officers raided the place and took them away. 

Sarumpaet is the coordinator of a loosely-organised alliance between opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri and Muslim figure Amien Rais, established earlier this year to challenge the re-election of Suharto. 

In Yogyakarta, around 17,000 students staged a four-hour protest, shouting anti-Suharto slogans and parading around the huge campus of Gajah Mada University in the heart of the city, which is around 500 kilometres east of Jakarta. 

Amien Rais and noted lecturer Teuku Jakob joined the protest and delivered their speeches. Amien, who has openly stated that he is prepared to run for the presidency, said he will give Suharto six months to overcome the crisis. He said Suharto had gained a fortune of around $40 billion while in power since 1965. 

''It's not something special if he uses his own money to bail out the Indonesian ailing economy,'' thundered Amien. 

Students also burned a huge picture of Suharto. Most of them wore the red-and-white headband, the colours of Indonesia's flag. ''Decrease prices and down with Suharto,'' they repeatedly chanted. Some students also painted their faces and held street plays, depicting corrupt officials who dragged their country into suffering.

IMF bailout under cloud

ANDREAS HARSONO
The Nation

JAKARTA, 11 March 1998 -- The US$43-billion economic bailout for Indonesia was shrouded in greater uncertainties Tuesday after President Suharto was appointed to a seventh five-year term amid angry street protests and an intensified attack by people close to him on the International Monetary Fund.

A leading economist and a high-ranking source predicted that termination of the IMF package was ''more likely than ever'' now that Suharto has fully consolidated his position. Tuesday, he formally told the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) that a trusted aide, Research and Technology Minister Jusuf Habibie, was his choice for vice-president.

Kwik Kian Gie, one of Indonesia's best-known economists, who had almost single-handedly warned about the current economist crisis since 1989, told The Nation that President Suharto had given ''clear hints'' on how he would deal with the IMF since Sunday.

Suharto told some parliament members that the IMF's requirement of reforms was based on liberal economic principles, and not in tune with Indonesia's much-revered Constitution which cherishes economy built upon family principles.

''Reading between the lines, he will terminate the cooperation as it is against the Constitution,'' said Kwik, predicting that Suharto might wait for some days, at least until the establishment of his new cabinet, before taking such a bold step.

But a highly placed source predicted Suharto might even move sooner than that. He said Suharto was probably ''angered'' with the IMF decision to delay the second US$3 billion disbursement of bailout fund. IMF officials suggested that they are going to wait until early April to see political developments and whether its proposed reforms are taking place.

Television host Wimar Witoelar, meanwhile, claimed ''scapegoating politics'' is the name of the game the Suharto government has been playing. Witoelar warned against the practice of ''very extremely narrow nationalism'' that has turned Indonesians' fingers toward the Chinese minority, the United States andthe IMF.

The 1,000-member MPR rose to its feet clapping and cheering when it unanimously re-elected the 76-year-old retired army general, Asia's longest serving leader, who has ruled for 32 years.

In Washington, IMF chief Michel Camdessus warned on Monday that Asia's economic recovery could unravel unless Indonesia carried out reforms agreed to under a $43-billion economic bailout deal.

No formal vote was taken by the MPR after all five factions within the grouping nominated only him. Instead delegates elected him by acclamation, shouting ''agree, agree'' when the assembly speaker asked if they wanted Suharto to stay in power.

Some raised their hands as the group celebrated with a standing ovation that echoed through Jakarta's national Parliament building.

Suharto stood for election unopposed after all rivals were shut out of the race by a tightly controlled political system. Many among the government appointees and legislators in the assembly are Suharto's relatives, friends and military officials.

Suharto, who assumed power in 1966, will be sworn in Wednesday.

Security forces have banned demonstrations for several weeks while the assembly convenes. Tens of thousands of security personnel have been placed on alert.

At least 10 people were arrested after police jostled and kicked protesters at one demonstration in a Jakarta park.

''What we saw was a peaceful demonstration of people exercising democratic rights,'' said Edmund McWilliams, political counsellor at the US Embassy, who attended the protest as an observer.

It was ''broken up in a rather vigorous, forceful, physical way'', he said.

Thousands of students staged pro-democracy rallies across the country Tuesday.

More than 1,000 students also rallied peacefully in front of the library building of the state Teachers University, a witness said.

In the East Java province capital of Surabaya, some 1,000 students rallied at the state Airlangga University campus, a resident who witnessed the event said. In the West Sumatra province capital of Padang, more than 1,000 Bung Hatta University students rallied for about two hours, demanding reforms and protesting against Suharto's reappointment.

More than 1,000 students of the Islamic University of Bandung and the University of Pasundan joined forces in the West Java province capital of Bandung and rallied against Suharto.

Worried by the potential for further unrest, the MPR on Monday extended Suharto's already ample authority by granting him wide emergency powers.

Meanwhile, a rift with the IMF deepened as assembly delegates accused the Washington-based lending agency of trampling on Indonesia's sovereignty and Suharto's family blistered the Fund in a series of local newspaper reports.

Four of Suharto's children conceded that the IMF funds were important, but not if they entailed the surrendering of the nation's control over its economic policies. They voiced particular displeasure with the IMF's refusal to support Indonesia's controversial plan to implement a currency board system.

''The rupiah may crumble, but our dignity must not,'' said one MPR delegate, Jusuf Kalla.

The comments echoed a statement on Sunday by Suharto, who proclaimed that the IMF reforms were ''not in line with the spirit'' of Indonesia's Constitution.

The president Tuesday was formally approached by political faction leaders of the assembly to ascertain his choice for vice-president.

''He says we need Habibie in order to prepare ourselves for the industrialisation era,'' Lt Gen Yunus Yosfiah, head of the military faction in the MPR, said after meeting Suharto.

Habibie, whose endorsement as vice-president became assured last month after he emerged as the only candidate for the post, is to be formally elected by the MPR Wednesday after Suharto's inauguration.

Crisis worsens as IMF delays bailout money

Andreas Harsono

The West Australian, March 9,1998

THE International Monetary Fund’s decision to delay $4.5 billion rescue money to indonesia would plunge the country into deeper economic trouble, economists have warned.

Some hoped it would cause President Suharto to step down but Mr. Suharto, 76, formally agreed yesterday to be nominated tomorrow for a seventh five-years term in charge of crisis torn Indonesia.

Mr. Suharto was quoted as saying the IMF aid package was not suitable for the Indonesian economy.

“The IMF package will impose a liberal economy, which is not in line with Article 33 (of the Indonesian constitution),” he was quoted as saying at a meeting with a political delegation seeking his renomination.

The decision to delay crucial funds for Indonesian could undermine financial guarantees from the country’s trading partners and halt key manufacturing processes. 

The Group of Seven industrialised countries and Australia, the Netherlands and Singapore said they would follow through with credit guarantee promise only if the IMF approved of the way Indonesia carried out reforms. 

Indonesia’s present crisis, triggered by the rapid decline of the rupiah currency against the dollar, has crippled production in many industries which depend on imported raw materials.

“Some of the manufacturing activities have already stopped. In the short term, there is an urgent need to keep the remaining production lines running to prevent the crisis from worsening," said Mulyani Indrawati, an economist at the University of Indonesia. 

She said the central Bank Indonesia did not have an adequate security blanket to cover import essential for Indonesia’s manufacturing sector. 

The IMF said at the weekend that it’s second instalment of its $60 billion rescue, schedule for next Sunday, would not take place before April because of Mr. Suharto’s failure to comply with the term set by the IMF.

Banking consultant Laksamana Sukardi said he hoped Mr. Suharto would adhere to the IMF agreement, “If the IMF is to pull out of Indonesia, we’re heading to a doomsday scenario,” he said.

A manager of an electronics firm joint venture with US firm Hewlett Packard told the The West Australian that buying sprees and a rush to buy the US dollar were likely spread.

But another middle ranking manager of a non-government organisation said, “It’s better if the IMF is to pull out of Indonesia so Suharto is to step down. The sooner the better.”  

Hopes that Mr. Suharto would toe the IMF line and evert the payout delay faded as Indonesia’s ruling Golkar party blocked references to the economic crisis in draft guidelines setting out government development policy for the next five years.

Legislators said at the week and that Golkar members successfully blocked mention of the turmoil, in the draft guidelines discussed in a series of closed-door sessions of the 1000-member People’s Consultative Assembly last week.

“If (the guideline document) is actually not realistic,” said Jusuf Syakir, faction head of the opposition Islamic oriented United Development Party, one of the three political parties permitted by Indonesia. Calls by the Christian-nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party for changes in the draft to reflect the depth for the country’s economic crisis fell on deaf ears.

Demonstrations continued for the sixth straight day on Saturday. Unemployment, inflation and fears of food shortages have been behind the unrest. 

“We reject the President’s speech,” read a banner at a demonstration in Bandung where 1,000 students criticised Mr. Suharto’s March 1 speech accounting for his last five years in office. Thousands of students at campus rallies around the country have kept up pressure on Mr. Suharto to introduce immediate reform.  

Parents Fear For Their Children's Milk

By Andreas Harsono

Albion Monitor

JAKARTA, 3 March 1998 -- Journalists are not immune from the crisis which is now hitting Indonesia. On a recent Sunday, my wife and I went to a big wholesaler looking for Enfapro baby milk powder for our one-year old son Norman. 

Enfapro is a brand name milk produced by PT Sugizindo here under a licensing agreement with the U.S.-based Mead Johnson corporation. But we couldn't find any. 

The huge Macro wholesaler, a subsidiary of the Dutch firm Macro which operates warehouse-like supermarkets in Indonesia, also displayed empty shelves. Not only baby milk, but also other items such as cooking oil, sugar, fruit juices and other brands of baby milk were nowhere to be found. 

Other shoppers brought large carriages and carried off whatever was left in the store. We didn't, deciding instead to look for the milk at a nearby Hero supermarket. It is a smaller, middle-to-upper class chain supermarket located close to our house. But once again no Enfapro. Hero had more empty shelves. 

We went to the WalMart on Tuesday, a huge supermarket operated by American managers, as well as the Mega M department store. But again we could not find Enfapro in either supermarket, both of which are controlled by tycoon James Riady the scion of the Lippo business group. 

A manager at one of the supermarkets told us that not only Mead Johnson but also Nestle, Unilever and Procter & Gamble, three multinational corporations producing canned foods, shampoo and soaps, had already stopped supplying his store. "They cannot keep operating, as some of their materials are imported, such as the foil on the can," he said, adding that the expatriate supervisors and consultants, also paid in U.S. dollars, have already been sent home. 

Mine is not the only family frightened by the sudden shortage of staple items in Indonesia. The Asian economic crisis has reduced the value of the rupiah by 300 percent against the American dollar since July, and many corporations have halted production. 

Mass dismissals meant that more than 10 million workers have lost their jobs -- about five percent of the total population. 

Dramatic scenes of people searching for staple foods and products are seen everywhere. Panicked housewives are spotted in supermarkets and traditional markets. Men drive across the vast metropolitan area just to help their wives to get the most-needed stocks. 

One senior editor has even ordered his servants to plant cassava, a popular vegetable, in his garden. "It's like the Japanese occupation period," he smiled. 

Rumors are circulating that the anti-Chinese sentiment is being deliberately fanned to divert public anger away from President Suharto. 

Worse than that, in more than two dozen small towns across Indonesia, villagers protested against and attacked Chinese-owned shops because of price hikes. I went to Pasuruan, a small town about 500 kilometers east of Jakarta, for three days and interviewed dozens of villagers after one attack. 

The straightforward villagers simply said that they could not afford the price hikes and blamed the Chinese traders. 

"We watched television and the government said the prices are fixed and the stocks are enough. But why have these Chinese shop owners increased the prices?" said Muhammad Jamil, a 37-year-old farmer. 

"Our income stays the same, but prices keep going up. If the prices come down, the problems will be solved. That's the solution. Just bring down the prices." 

But bringing down the prices is not an easy solution. It is an extremely complicated matter. Unpaid foreign loans, rising exchange rates, less confidence toward the government, rivalry among government officials, and an aging president without an apparent heir are only a few of the complexities. 

A merchant selling imported goods, for instance, who paid the U.S. equivalent of $1 for a product last June, today has to pay $3 or more for the same goods, if he can get them (some distributors will not accept any amount of rupiah for products because of the great uncertainty about its value). 

If he sells what stocks he has at the June prices, he will not earn enough to replace them and will probably go bankrupt. 

Rumors are also circulating that the anti-Chinese sentiment is being deliberately fanned by the military to divert public anger away from President Suharto and his family. It is widely known that the Suhartos have used their power to accumulate vast wealth reliably estimated at $16 billion. 

But in a crisis like today's, even President Suharto, who has been in power since 1965 and is considered the most powerful man in Indonesia, doesn't have a solution. He has tried many different tactics to deal with the crisis and the market has always responded negatively. 

Critics of the government say Suharto is part of the problem instead of the solution. One prominent exile even says that Suharto is the most corrupt head of state in the world. 

But compared with those villagers, my small family should be considered fortunate. We still have some money. I can still write and sometimes some foreign news organizations ask me to write and pay me in foreign currencies. 

But Muhammad Jamil, the farmer in Pasuruan, can only get 2,500 rupiah -- about $0.35 cents -- for a day's work in the fields under the scorching sun. 

My wife also bought a two-month stock of Enfapro in December when its price increased from 12,000 rupiah per can to between 17,000 and 18,000. 

Our son Norman usually consumes two 400-gram cans of Enfapro every week. And we still have eight more cans at home. Perhaps, after Norman finishes the eight cans, we should change his milk. 

Now, like other Indonesians, we are just trying to ensure our own survival. My wife has decided to use less cooking oil. We mostly boil our food. We also dimmed the light in some of our rooms. 

I have already asked our service station to give my car a tune-up to save gasoline. For a while there'll be no more shopping at the glittering Lippo mall, where Wal Mart and Mega M are located, no more sipping a superb Chinese tea in a corner of the shopping mall. Nobody knows what will happen in Indonesia. It is again the year of living dangerously. 

On Dangerous Ground

Andreas Harsono

The Bulletin, 3 March 1998

Chuan set to discuss crisis with Suharto

Andreas Harsono

The Nation, March 2, 1998

JAKARTA – Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai arrived yesterday for a short meeting today, with Indonesian President Suharto on the economic situation in South Asia, which is facing its worst economic crisis in decades.

Before leaving Bangkok, Chuang dismissed reports that he would discuss Indonesia’s proposal to set up a currency board, saying he would talk to the president about the economic situation in the region.

The prime minister also said he would discuss whether the two countries could resort to a counter-trade system during the economic crisis. “I will discuss with president Suharto which ways we can do bilateral trade at a time when we both do not have money,” he said.

Chuan was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi and Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan.

A Thai diplomat here told The Nation the meeting between the two leaders, who have known each other for several years, will take place this morning at the presidential palace.

The diplomat said Chuan was to return to Bangkok as soon as he finishes the meeting, although his fight schedule hat not yet been fixed.

“No luncheon, no dinner,” he said. It is not clear whether Chuan is to meet Suharto’s next deputy B.J. Habibie.

Meanwhile, Suharto, said yesterday I front of 1.000 strong People’s Consultative Assembly that he will do everything to restore Indonesia’s ailing economic.

Suharto delivered his nationally broadcast speech for almost two hours, detailing the problem Indonesia is facing, ranging from the sudden collapse of the rupiah last August to dramatic price hikes and increased unemployment.

Indonesia readies for selection of president

Suharto opponents ‘without hope’

Andreas Harsono

The Nation, March 1, 1998

JAKARTA – A political comedy is to begin in Indonesia today when the ageing President Suharto officially opens the convention of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR).

It is widely expected that the 1.000 strong MPR will re-elect Suharto for his seventh five-years term in office next week as well as to elect Research and Technology Minister BJ Habibie, a close aide to Suharto, to become the vice president.

It’s an open secret here that almost 80 percent of MPR members do not have their individual votes. Half of them, he directly appoints and the remainder are legislators, of which 75 are active military officers appointed by Suharto. Only 425 were selected in a tightly-controlled general election in May last year.

"They must okey the instruction of their parties whose heads are tightly-selected Suharto goons,” said political scientist Arief Budiman of the University of Melbourne.

Critics say that the expensive presidential election, starting today and running until March 11, is merely a show for the outside world. The opposition parties are tamed. Suharto did not hesitate to order the removal of opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri and replace her with a puppet leader in June 1996. 

But pressure are mounting against Suharto, especially after the rupiah nosedived against the US dollar in August last year, creating a serious political and economic crisis which has doubled, if not tripled, prices.

Riots broke out in over 30 towns and villages as some military officers had allegedly instigated anti-Chinese sentiment to divert public anger from Suharto toward the relatively affluent minority.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta elite are also speculating on what former US vice president Walter Mondale will say when he meets Suharto on Tuesday or Wednesday. US President Bill Clinton had assigned Mondale to officially express his “grave concern” about Suharto’s Indonesia.

White House staff said Mondale is also expected to diplomatically ask Suharto to implement the agreement that Suharto had signed with the International Monetary Fund on Jan 15 to start economic reform.

In an apparent bid to protect the business interests of his children, Suharto had tried to water down the deal which asked him to scrap monopolies and other sate facilities dedicated to his children and cronies.

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai is also expected to arrive here today for a two-day visit. His schedule to meet Suharto to convey his support for the restoration of Indonesia’s economy.

Muslim leader Amin Rais, with whio Megawati had built an alliance, said on Thursday that he would like to give Suharto and BJ Habibie a chance, “I’m neutral. All I want to say is let’s give them a fair chance.” 

But he warned the two that he will lead Manilla-style “People’s Power” rallies if Suharto fails to solve the economic crisis within six months.

“So everyone would do well to watch closely what comes after the sessions. If prices of basic foodstuffs continue to soar, while people will go hungry, this could lead to upheaval," said Amien, the chairman of the Muhammadiyah organisation.

Jakarta streets are decorated with huge billboards saying, “Selamat Bersidang Para Wakil Rakyat” or "Sukseskan Sidang Umum MPR” which respectively translate as “Have a Good Meeting People’s Representative” and “Let’s Make the MPR Session a Success.” 

The capital also has much more percent military and intelligence department presence, Soldiers were seen at every shopping mall and plainclothes officers constantly talked into walkie-talkies. Several large military helicopters also hovered over Jakarta.

Gatot Subroto street, where the parliament building is located, also had regular traffic jams as police closed half of the street for security checks, while machine gun-toting soldiers on motorcycles patrolled the city.

Jakarta military commander Maj Gen Sjafrie Sjamsuddin, another Suharto goon, said recently that 25.000 police and army personnel are stationed in Jakarta for the convention.

Independent observers, however, doubted the figure, saying that 25.000 police officers are only enough to control the city’s traffic.

"It must be approximately 300.000,” said a western diplomat. 

More than 600 print journalists, 246 photographers and 350 foreign newsmen are accredited to cover the convention, but the organiser has not set up a media centre.

State owned TV station TVRI assigned more than 200 media workers to live broadcast, the so-called presidential election, as one presenter claimed that it is necessary for the whole of Indonesia to watch "the practice of our Pancasila democracy”.

Pancasila is the name of Indonesia’s state ideology which adheres to the belief in the Almighty One, humanity, unity of the country, democracy and social justice.

But in practice the Suharto government uses the ideology as a pretext to crack down on the opposition, jail students and even to corrupt the Constitution.