Indonesia - Profile - Dr. Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie.

President of the Republic since Suharto stepped down in May 1998, Habibie is relying on the support of three power centres: the head of the military establishment Gen. Wiranto, the moderate Islamists, and the remnants of the ruling party Golkar. Nine months in power have conferred upon Habibie some of the prestige of office. There are also concrete achievements to Habibie's credit. Since the rupiah sank to an all-time law of almost Rp17,000 to the US dollar in June 1998, he has presided over a sharp recovery in the currency on the back of strong export earnings. He has managed to hold together one of the most fragmented countries in the world in the teeth of bitter recession. He has steered between students' demands for democracy and the desire of the corrupt Suharto establishment to shield itself from scrutiny. Shortly before Suharto was re-elected as president in March 1998, the dictator made Habibie vice president. It is said that, when he decided to step down in May, Suharto had to get Habibie's assurance that he will not act against him or his family. Suharto is said to have received similar assurances from Gen. Wiranto and other key figures who were to become part of Habibie's regime. Almost immediately after becoming president, Habibie pledged to create a "clean government, free from corruption, collusion and nepotism". But one of the biggest threats to his rule may be the concern that he and his family used government office to amass a private fortune. Barely three weeks after he replaced Suharto, economists and political activists began to document the sprawling businesses of Habibie's children and close relatives. Although his family did not have anything approaching the wealth of Suharto's clan, its worth was estimated at about $80m and many of his children, brothers and sisters do business with government agencies. Habibie's two sons have business ties to the state aircraft company he set up several years ago, and one has contracts connected to a gas project he helped promote. Two of his brothers and a brother-in-law have close ties to the Batam Island development project, near Singapore, which has become an important industrial and export zone. His sister plays a key role in the state's Research and Technology Development Agency (BPPT), which he used to head before becoming vice president, and her husband was one of the agency's contractors. The best known Habibie-linked company is controlled by his youngest brother, Timmy, whose Timsco Holdings has a score of subsidiaries operating in many different businesses, some of them dependent on government contracts or licences. Several Indonesian economists compare Timmy Habibie's operating style to that of Bambang Trihadmodjo, Suharto's second son, which is characterised more by personal contacts than any particular expertise. Habibie's long involvement in the Batam Island project has raised the most conspicuous conflicts. Though Suharto had appointed Habibie to supervise the conversion of Batam into a manufacturing centre and export zone, Habibie had governed it like a personal fiefdom. Habibie worked hand-in-hand with the zone's chief executive, Sudarsono Darmosuwito, his brother-in-law who is now retired. When Habibie became vice president in March 1998, he appointed his younger brother Effendi "Fanny" Habibie to succeed him as chairman of the Batam Island Development Authority. Shortly after becoming president, Habibie defended his wealth and that of his family members, insisting that nepotism had not played a part in their success. He acknowledged that some of his relatives had become rich, but stressed they had done so through strong education and work habits. He confirmed that many of his brothers, sisters and children did business with government agencies. But he said they did not get special treatment. "Many people become rich if you work hard and you are educated", Habibie said, adding: "And now they have to stop because I am the president for two weeks?". As science and technology minister before March 1998, Habibie had been close to Suharto for many years. He had this post since the early 1980s and supervised some of the country's highest profile development projects. These included the state aircraft maker, the huge Natuna natural gas project and the Batam Island development zone. An aeronautical engineer, trained in East Germany, Habibie was also chairman of the powerful Research and Technology Development Agency (BPPT). The Natuna Project Execution Team for the Exxon-led gas venture was chaired by Habibie, and its advisors have included the then powerful armed forces chief Gen. Faisal Tanjung as Natuna was of geo-strategic importance in the South China Sea, the scene of confrontations between China and ASEAN states Habibie also used to head the influential Association of Muslim Intellectuals (AMI) and was the leading technologist in Indonesia. He was the chief advocate of self-sufficiency in technology, the most important strategic objective of the Suharto regime. This goal was directed at all sectors, including civilian and military industries. With Suharto's support, Habibie in 1995 took over high-cost heavy industry projects at a time when the government was struggling to balance the budget. But his eagerness to develop aircraft, ships, automobiles, electronics, advanced agricultural techniques and nuclear power caused a storm of controversy in the country. This was mainly because the technologists were big spenders, and in this they were challenged by the technocrats and the military.