Jakarta – Indonesian President B.J. Habibie said on Monday he was appointing Justice Minister Muladi to the powerful post of state secretary after the resignation of Akbar Tandjung, the chairman of the ruling Golkar party.

"The state secretary's post will be taken over by Minister of Justice Muladi because he knows a lot about the law," Habibie told reporters.

Culture and Tourism Minister Marzuki Usman would take over as investment minister after the resignation of Hamzah Haz, Habibie said. Haz is the chairman of the Moslem-oriented United Development Party (PPP)

Muladi and Usman would retain their existing portfolios in addition to their new duties, the president said. Both Tandjung and Haz had already tendered their resignations, Habibie said.

The resignations came after the General Election Commission (KPU) reiterated on Friday that it would ban ministers from campaigning for the June 7 election.

The issue has become a sore point with the dozens of new parties which have sprung up since former President Suharto was forced from office last May.

Golkar and the PPP are two of only three parties which were allowed to contest elections under Suharto. Every one of those elections was won by Golkar, which Suharto used as his own political vehicle.