Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – A reshuffle of top officers in Indonesia's armed forces has prompted speculation that General Wiranto, the Defence Minister and armed forces chief, sees himself as the country's new vice-president.

The President, Dr B.J. Habibie, at the weekend appointed the former navy chief of staff, Admiral Widodo, as deputy chief of the armed forces, a post unfilled for 12 years.

General Wiranto, who maintains close contact with the former president Mr Soeharto, said the appointment was made because "we are in an era of change, with possible unknown threats. That's why the commander needs a deputy to fill out the control function".

Brushing aside questions about his future, General Wiranto told journalists in Jakarta the appointment was in the best interests of the country.

"The sea has a significant role ... we have sea passages that offer positive things for our economy but they have a lot of access and can be easily infiltrated, General Wiranto said. It has nothing to do with politics. This is about professionalism."

The ruling Golkar party has already named General Wiranto as one of its preferred candidates for the vice-presidency when the 700-member People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) meets in November to elect a president and a vice-president to rule for five years.

But some informed speculation in Jakarta has General Wiranto abandoning Golkar, which came second at the elections, and joining the camp of Mrs Megawati Sukarnoputri, whose Indonesian Party of Struggle won the biggest bloc of votes.

Mrs Megawati, the 54-year-old daughter of Indonesia's founding president Sukarno, has remained largely silent as post-election political horse-trading hots up in Jakarta but was quoted yesterday as telling a Japanese newspaper she was ready to take the presidency from Dr Habibie.

"It is the desire of the majority of people that I become the next president," Mrs Megawati said. But her chances of going back to the presidential palace where she grew up remain in doubt because of Indonesia's complex electoral system.

Dr Habibie has the support of some Muslim parties and Golkar, which over three decades supported Mr Soeharto.

Mrs Megawati's bid for the presidency received a boost yesterday when the prominent Muslim leader, Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, declared that his organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama, did not oppose a woman becoming president.

"Those who said it was haram (forbidden by Islam) for a woman to become president actually do not understand fiqih (studies of law)," Mr Wahid said.

Mr Wahid, a close friend of Mrs Megawati, said last month he could not guarantee Islamic scholars in his organisation would accept her presidency, sparking an intense debate about the role of Islamic women in politics.