The Suhartos Living outside the limelight

Interview "I refuse to be called a 'transition president'"

Batam The place that made the man

ASEAN Don't expect Jakarta to lead

Executive challenges Habibie has his work cut out for him

THE BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTO, today more than two decades old, is yellowed and fading. But it is notable for two features. First, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, then 41 years old, has a full shock of jet black hair. And second, his eyes are open so wide that his pupils seem loose in a sea of white. Today, photos reveal some changes. His head, often covered by a peci, Indonesia's trademark black velvet hat, sits beneath a thinning, gray tuft of hair. But the eyes, the eyes remain bright as a newly minted coin.

Now Indonesia's president, the 62-year-old Habibie has always had a slightly off-beat, hyperkinetic manner about him. The difference, as of the 100-day mark in what Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong calls "the toughest job in the world," is added political savvy. When asked by Asiaweek whether he would run for president at the end of 1999, the time period he has set for a new presidential election, he says: "I only want to be president again if the people want me. If they don't want me, I cannot force them. I am not going to engineer it. It is not my style." In short, he may run.

What confidence this shows compared to when he took over the presidency following the traumatic riots that shook Jakarta and toppled Suharto. At first, Habibie described himself as a transitional figure and promised to enact sweeping reforms. Now he speaks and acts more confidently. But as a politician, he could be more circumspect. One of his key advisers, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, says Habibie is "very unpretentious and totally honest. His weakness is that he's not a politician. He does not always guard his tongue. A politician usually calculates what he says, an actor whose every gesture is aimed at gearing up political support. Habibie is not that."

At least, he wasn't back on May 21 when he was sworn in as Indonesia's third president. Habibie replaced Suharto, his longtime mentor and patron. Suharto himself had been in power since elbowing aside Indonesia's founding father, Sukarno, in a slow-motion grab for power which began in 1965. Habibie was clearly surprised by the turn of events that made him the country's leader. Today, he admits, he never even thought he would be vice president, let alone president. In the first days of his administration, Habibie displayed an optimism that seemed distressingly out of touch given the severity of Indonesia's problems.

For one thing, the nation was coming out of a tumultuous month of demonstrations and violent riots that left hundreds dead and a significant core of business in Jakarta, Medan, Solo burned to the ground. Far worse, evidence has emerged that elements of the army were involved in starting and encouraging the murderous violence, which was mainly directed at Chinese Indonesians, including the rapes of between 150 to 200 women.

Economically, the nation was also reeling. The rupiah had plunged below 15,000 to the dollar. Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter contracted by more than 8% and was widely expected to fall further as the year went on. Unemployment and inflation were surging. Food distribution channels had been wrecked by the riots, stocks were dwindling and what was left was priced beyond the reach of many.

Into this maelstrom stepped Habibie, a slight man with an almost giddy demeanor and prone to digression. In all, he made a most unlikely savior. Born in the small town of Pare-pare on the island of Sulawesi, Habibie had been educated as an aerospace engineer and spent from 1955 to 1974 in Germany, much of it working for Messerschmitt Bolkow-Blohm, a German aeronautics company.

In 1974, Habibie returned to Indonesia. According to his biography, Messerschmitt officials didn't think it was fair to keep Habibie from returning home: "[For Indonesia to produce] another Habibie would take 100 years." In Jakarta, Habibie went to work for Suharto as research and technology minister. He participated in several projects, including one in which he successfully organized the production of a propeller-driven airplane.

Poverty is high and growing. Nearly 80 million people out of a total population of 201.6 million are below the poverty line. By year-end the number could be 96 million.

GDP fell 12.2% in the first half of the year, the first contraction of its kind in 30 years. Private and public foreign debt is $138 billion. A rupiah worth less than 10,000 to $1 makes repayment a burden. And oil, plummeting to decade-low prices, promises no black-gold bonanza.

A rice shortage of 3.1 million tons is expected. Available food priced beyond the reach of many Indonesians.

n Banks desperately need to be recapitalized. But where will the money come from? Subsidies are already blowing an 8.5%-of-GDP hole in the budget. And the unresolved political future discourages investment.

Indonesians are more concerned than ever about separatist sentiments in Aceh, East Timor and Irian Jaya. Lawlessness is rising. The credibility of the military is crumbling. Chinese Indonesians remain tense.