Yindee Lertcharoenchok, Jakarta – As speculation runs high of political wooing of military support, Indonesia's Armed Forces Chief Gen Wiranto yesterday did not rule out his nomination as the country's next president or vice president, saying political parties have the right to do so.
"All citizens of Indonesia regardless of religion, ethnicity and who are civilian or military have the duty to devote and dedicate their lives to the country, so if there are a number of political parties which decide to nominate me to be the upcoming president or vice president I would consider it as quite normal," Wiranto said.
"And of course this is their right to nominate me as the upcoming president or vice president," Wiranto said in response to a question raised during his meeting with representatives of the Asia Network for Free Elections (Anfrel), which is in the country to help monitor the general election scheduled for Monday.
Wiranto, also defence minister under the current transitional government of President B J Habibie, has been nominated by some small Islamic political parties for vice president, but the five key parties including the military-backed Golkar Party, which had backed former president Suharto's rule for 32 years, has not officially named its vice presidential choice.
Golkar, which had last month officially nominated Habibie as its presidential candidate, has had second thoughts and said it might reconsider its choice.
In an interview yesterday, a senior Indonesian journalist of a leading daily newspaper here said if there was "a political deadlock" in the MPR presidential election in November, chances were that Wiranto could become a choice for either the presidency or vice presidency.
During the meeting with Anfrel, Wiranto also played down concern over the possibility of a military coup or intervention in politics, a practice which has taken place in many new emerging democracies including Thailand, saying every country has its own characteristics and culture.
"Thailand and Indonesia are, of course, different countries and we have different concepts of implementing state politics which should not be, of course, similar," he said when asked if the Indonesian military would opt for similar measures taken by its Thai counterpart.
The Indonesian journalist, who asked not to be named, said he believed Wiranto, who has retained strong ties with the United States, would not attempt a "traditional" coup like in the case of Thailand. But the Indonesian military will not tolerate any attempt by small Islamic political parties forming an alliance with Islamic groups to create an Islamic state.
"Right from day one, the military has made clear that it will not tolerate religious domination [to create a sectarian state]. If that is the case, there would be a legitimate cause for military intervention to prevent the country heading in that direction," he said.
Wiranto said the general election across the Indonesian archipelago, except for a few hot-spots of violence in the westernmost Aceh province, will go ahead as scheduled on Monday.