22nd November 2000:
President Try Sutrisno departed Jakarta for the ASEAN Unofficial Summit early enough that he was welcomed in a ceremony and had breakfast with President of Singapore SR Nathan before, being accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita, having a quick meeting with Prime Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Lee Hsien Loong, and Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Goh said that looking at Indonesia’s activities over the past few months ie. the Sipadan Hostage extraction, he supported Indonesia in principle if it wants to play a leadership role in ASEAN but said that if Malaysia doesn’t support Indonesia’s leadership, that puts Singapore in a difficult situation since it still relies on its water with Malaysia. Lee said that Singapore would like some more time to consider its options. Try respected this. Ginandjar noted however that the two Lees were not exactly pleased by this.
All 10 heads of states and government from the ASEAN gathered for the unofficial summit. All made their opening speeches including Try, who commanded the entire Summit’s attention with his speech, which included the following:
“The results of the US Presidential Elections as well as the outgoing Clinton Administration and the Primakov’s stances of supporting different sides in a conflict in Serbia and the Presidential Elections in Romania all point to the world falling back into two blocs. Southeast Asia should prevent itself from falling into one of these two blocs as it did in the Cold War nor should it be in a position where it comes into a position where it is reliant on a major power. Instead Southeast Asia should form its own bloc so that it can find its security from it and act in its own interests.”
The Indonesian delegation loved the speech. While the other speeches were relatively dull, it was the speech of Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in which he said:
“ASEAN already has the Zone of Peace, Freedom, and Neutrality Declaration signed in Malaysia 1971. We have that to fall back on if the world were to fall into two blocs. Let us work together through institutions which we already have and which we have already spent so much time working on painstakingly rather then commit ourselves to uncertain ventures.”
“Is this guy really under that much pressure at home that he’s at the point of reading speeches that doesn’t represent his point of view?” muttered State Secretary Edi Sudrajat.
Try evidently heard Edi’s muttering because he too asked about how things were going back in Indonesia though Edi would not allow him to watch television so that he could remain focused on the Summit.
It was just as well that Edi didn’t allow Try to get news from Indonesia. Appearing on TVRI was Prabowo Subianto, confirming Feisal Tanjung’s story and repeating the question over and over again about whether or not the President “can trust Habibie now”.
23rd November 2000:
The key meeting of the day was between President Try (accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Edi Sudrajat, and Ambassador to ASEAN I Gede Awet Sara) with Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra (with Minister of Foreign Afairs Surakiart Sathirathai and Minister to the Office of Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisang). In among various matters, they talked about the situation in Southeast Asia.
Thaksin said that it will be hard for Try to build his bloc without Malaysia onboard. In addition to being a big nation, Malaysia controls Singapore’s water supply and envelopes Brunei on all sides. Get Malaysia on board and it would probably be easier to get Singapore and Brunei on board. And if Singapore and Brunei is on board, then Indonesia has Southeast Asia’s two richest countries supporting him. Over in Thailand’s part of Southeast Asia, Thaksin said that Laos is struggling economically this year but this is being cushioned somewhat by Thai and Indonesian investments in the country. Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen is a very high risk of falling into Chinese orbit and bringing his country along with him. But Thaksin said he has good relations with Hun Sen and will do his best to neutralize it.
After Thaksin left, Try asked those in the room what to make of the meetng with Thaksin, all agreed that Thaksin was offering Thailand for the role of Indonesia’s lieutenant in Southeast Asia.
Back in Jakarta, Chairman of ICMI Habibie had avoided taking questions for 2 days on Feisal Tanjung’s revelations. This was affecting his campaign for re-election as PKPI members were no longer attending his events. Both DPR Member Hartono and ICMI Secretary Adi Sasono campaigned around the country for the ICMI Chairmanship, the former in events attended by PKPB members and the latter attended by Islamist groups on campus.
24th November 2000:
The Summit’s Sessions today got heated when Malaysia and Cambodia today asked that the suspension of ASEAN Free Trade Area implementation preparations agreed to at the 1998 ASEAN Summit be lifted. At that 2 summit 2 years ago, all 10 ASEAN Members had agreed to delay the coming into effect of the ASEAN Free Trade Area to allow all 10 economies to recover and provide a level playing field. No consensus was reached on what step to take but even Philippines, despite being sympathetic to Indonesia, was interested.
Try was sufficiently upset at Malaysia’s conduct that he got up to speak to Badawi when the session was over in a corner of the convention room. Badawi said that his instincts was for better relations with Indonesia and for Malaysia to be in Indonesia’s bloc but that the pressure was overwhelming him from inside the Malaysian Government not to do so.
“Whatever happens to him in his country’s politics, let’s just leave him be and look for another country in the region to work closely with”, said Try.
Today was the day the ASEAN Summit became ASEAN+3 with the Presidents of China and Korea as well as the Prime Minister of Japan flying in.
Accompanied by Ginandjar Kartasasmita and Edi Sudrajat, Try got to sit down with Prime Minister of Japan Koichi Kato, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Hiroyuki Hosoda, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshiro Mori. Try congratulated Kato on his re-election the previous month. Kato thanked him for it. But to Try’s frustration, Kato maintained that he will set Japan for a “middle way” that Japan has good relations with both the United States and China. Try was not impressed with this even as Indonesia and Japan agreed for cooperation in railways.
“In Malaysia, internal politics is keeping Badawi from joining our bloc. In Japan, the Prime Minister is not all-powerful and has to deal with factions, their internal politics is probably what’s keeping Japan from falling into China’s camp”, said Ginandjar after the meeting.
25th November 2000:
It was the first meeting of the day. Try as always took Ginandjar and Edi with him. Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Tang Jiaxuan was appreciative at seeing the trio again after meeting them at the ASEM Summit. Try was most interested in President of China Jiang Zemin.
Jiang gave a survey of world affairs saying that it was a regret tha he would “lose Clinton soon”. He all but bragged about China’s power in the world stage how it will overtake Germany and Japan and how China is growing its influence in Africa. Try sat calmly. Then Jiang moved on to Indonesia saying that he would like China to have a great bilateral relationship with Indonesia because a great relationship with Indonesia could influence China’s relationship with the entire region.
“You are after all the leader in Southeast Asia”, said Jiang with a sly smile that said that he knew about what Try was doing and his struggles in it.
It was not the first time Try had met Jiang. But it was the first time Try had met Jiang after he had become increasingly active in foreign affairs and Jiang did everything in the meeting to indirectly lay down the law that Indonesia does not have the ability to challenge China. Try bit his tongue through what became a one-sided conversation. He wanted Jiang to think that his message was getting through. At the end of it all, he just said “China truly is a great nation and we have much to learn.”
The Summit drew to a close. While a communiqué was issued hailing close cooperation across various fields in Southeast Asia, Try held another meeting with Thaksin. The two agreed to form 2 teams headed respectively by Vice President JB Sumarlin and Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Barnharn Silpa-Archa to negotiate a cooperation treaty. After this was agreed to, Try flew back to Jakarta.
26th November 2000:
Chairman of ICMI BJ Habibie spent most of the Sunday afternoon at the Presidential Palace in a private meeting with the President. When he came out, Habibie told the reporters that he had explained ‘everything’ to the President and admitted bluntly that what Feisal Tanjung had said a few days ago was correct. Habibie added that he “wasn’t the only one who wanted to be president after President Soeharto had died, just the only one brave enough to express his ambitions openly”. He ended by saying that the President will be emerging soon to also make some comments before leaving.
Sure enough the President emerged some minutes after Habibie had departed with Edi Sudrajat by his side. He was immediately flooded with questions about what was his reaction to Feisal Tanjung’s revelations.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t angry when I first heard these revelations”, Try began “But it’s been a few days and I’ve thought things through. Mr. Habibie’s personal explanation to me also helped. I think Mr. Habibie did not attempt to avoid responsibility and he took ownership about what he said.”
A reporter asked if the President would consider removing ministers who are ICMI members or who are close to Habibie in the cabinet as speculated by the “rumor mill”. Try laughed at this.
“I’ve been at the ASEAN Unofficial Summit at Singapore for the last few days where the State Secretary has shielded me from following the news back home in Indonesia so I’ve been completely in the dark about news much less rumors”, Try replied while nodding and smiling at Edi “But I’ll tell you what I told Mr. Habibie in there that he’s still part of the Pancasila Coalition and ICMI members are still a part of the cabinet.”
27th November 2000:
At the Presidential Palace and in the presence of teachers, university lecturers, the President signed the Teachers and Lecturers’ Bill passed by the DPR while he was away on the ASEAN Unofficial Summit into law. The law guarantees the various rights and responsibilities of teachers and lecturers including the right to receive a salary above the minimum wage and various allowances and families as suits their rank. At the same time the law sets the qualification standards to become teachers and lecturers. Namely a bachelor’s degree or a diploma four for teachers and at least a masters’ degree to become a lecturer.
Minister of Education Wardiman Djojonegoro said that teachers will cease to be “awardless heroes” because the nation will give them an award in the form of their rights to be paid a salary that will allow them to have a living.
28th November 2000:
The President met with Minister of Religion Quraish Shihab. The latter reported that he met with Confucianists who spoke of their plight of not being able to register their marriages at the civil registry and the administrative consequences as a result of that because their religion was not recognized by the Government. Quraish explained that most Confucianists claim that they were of other religions on the ID cards but not all. Try handed Quraish’s report over to Edi and instructed that a study be conducted on it.
At a fast breaking ceremony at his official residence, Chairman of DPR Harmoko had Habibie as his guest of honor. Speaking to reporters after his event was over, Harmoko said that the “revelations” last week was nothing but an attempt by those “hostile towards the President and Habibie” to break apart the Pancasila Coalition. Chairman of Muhammadiyah Amien Rais who attended the ceremony agreed with this and said that the Pancasila Coalition and ICMI must not lose out to the “other side”.
29th November 2000:
It was a lunchtime conference, though this being the fasting month there were no food served. The President met with Vice President JB Sumarlin, Ginandjar Kartasasmita, State Minister of National Security Soerjadi, Edi Sudrajat, and I Gede Awet Sara. On Southeast Asia, the group agreed to consolidate Indonesia’s relationship with Thailand and Try officially appointed Sumarlin as head of a delegation to negotiate a treaty of cooperation with Thailand across various areas.
Try broke his fast that day with the State Secretariat and those who work there. There was a congratulatory mood for this was the 3rd anniversary of his rise to the presidency. When asked to make some comments, Try said the following:
“I’ve interacted with a lot of world leaders lately, got to learn about how their nations are doing, and ended up with the conclusion that we as a nation have a lot of catching up to do. However long I will be in this office, I hope that by the time I leave it, Indonesia would have given a good chase.”
---
So thus far we have the Philippines firmly in the Indonesian camp for the support Indonesia gave in the Philippines’ campaign against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Malaysia proving resistant, Singapore being cautious, and Thailand wanting to be Indonesia’s right hand in mainland Southeast Asia. This will be a long project for Try.
The Teacher and Lecturers’ Law is one of those things that happened a lot earlier ITTL than in OTL. But it’s also something that OTL Wardiman is concerned about as can be seen in his autobiography https://books.google.co.id/books?id...AA#v=onepage&q=wardiman uu guru dosen&f=false
The problems with Confucianist weddings not being recorded because it was not acknowledged as a religion is based on OTL https://www.liputan6.com/news/read/119151/pernikahan-pasangan-konghucu-disahkan-catatan-sipil
Habibie’s ITTL attitude of really wanting the presidency to the point of wanting to ignore Try’s claim of succession and then changing to an attitude of accepting that Try is the President to the point of becoming an ally is a replication of Habibie’s OTL attitude to the presidency of really wanting it to the point of being aggressive when he has a shot at it and being accepting when the presidency was no longer his to hold.
OTL, in the days leading to Soeharto’s fall from power, Soeharto tried to keep power by (publicly) saying on television his resignation won’t solve the crisis because he didn’t think “my successor” would be able to take care of the issue. Habibie, who was Vice President and realizing that he was first in line if Soeharto resigned, could not be more obvious that he wanted to become president was unhappy that this was the way Soeharto felt and told him so. This despite the fact that Soeharto had expected Habibie to resign along with him.
Habibie became president for 17 months and when it became obvious that his presidency was drawing to a close and that he was not enjoying the support required at the 1999 MPR General Session, Habibie without much fuss announced that he was no longer willing to be nominated and threw his weight behind eventual successor Abdurrahman Wahid.
President Try Sutrisno departed Jakarta for the ASEAN Unofficial Summit early enough that he was welcomed in a ceremony and had breakfast with President of Singapore SR Nathan before, being accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita, having a quick meeting with Prime Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Lee Hsien Loong, and Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Goh said that looking at Indonesia’s activities over the past few months ie. the Sipadan Hostage extraction, he supported Indonesia in principle if it wants to play a leadership role in ASEAN but said that if Malaysia doesn’t support Indonesia’s leadership, that puts Singapore in a difficult situation since it still relies on its water with Malaysia. Lee said that Singapore would like some more time to consider its options. Try respected this. Ginandjar noted however that the two Lees were not exactly pleased by this.
All 10 heads of states and government from the ASEAN gathered for the unofficial summit. All made their opening speeches including Try, who commanded the entire Summit’s attention with his speech, which included the following:
“The results of the US Presidential Elections as well as the outgoing Clinton Administration and the Primakov’s stances of supporting different sides in a conflict in Serbia and the Presidential Elections in Romania all point to the world falling back into two blocs. Southeast Asia should prevent itself from falling into one of these two blocs as it did in the Cold War nor should it be in a position where it comes into a position where it is reliant on a major power. Instead Southeast Asia should form its own bloc so that it can find its security from it and act in its own interests.”
The Indonesian delegation loved the speech. While the other speeches were relatively dull, it was the speech of Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in which he said:
“ASEAN already has the Zone of Peace, Freedom, and Neutrality Declaration signed in Malaysia 1971. We have that to fall back on if the world were to fall into two blocs. Let us work together through institutions which we already have and which we have already spent so much time working on painstakingly rather then commit ourselves to uncertain ventures.”
“Is this guy really under that much pressure at home that he’s at the point of reading speeches that doesn’t represent his point of view?” muttered State Secretary Edi Sudrajat.
Try evidently heard Edi’s muttering because he too asked about how things were going back in Indonesia though Edi would not allow him to watch television so that he could remain focused on the Summit.
It was just as well that Edi didn’t allow Try to get news from Indonesia. Appearing on TVRI was Prabowo Subianto, confirming Feisal Tanjung’s story and repeating the question over and over again about whether or not the President “can trust Habibie now”.
23rd November 2000:
The key meeting of the day was between President Try (accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Edi Sudrajat, and Ambassador to ASEAN I Gede Awet Sara) with Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra (with Minister of Foreign Afairs Surakiart Sathirathai and Minister to the Office of Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisang). In among various matters, they talked about the situation in Southeast Asia.
Thaksin said that it will be hard for Try to build his bloc without Malaysia onboard. In addition to being a big nation, Malaysia controls Singapore’s water supply and envelopes Brunei on all sides. Get Malaysia on board and it would probably be easier to get Singapore and Brunei on board. And if Singapore and Brunei is on board, then Indonesia has Southeast Asia’s two richest countries supporting him. Over in Thailand’s part of Southeast Asia, Thaksin said that Laos is struggling economically this year but this is being cushioned somewhat by Thai and Indonesian investments in the country. Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen is a very high risk of falling into Chinese orbit and bringing his country along with him. But Thaksin said he has good relations with Hun Sen and will do his best to neutralize it.
After Thaksin left, Try asked those in the room what to make of the meetng with Thaksin, all agreed that Thaksin was offering Thailand for the role of Indonesia’s lieutenant in Southeast Asia.
Back in Jakarta, Chairman of ICMI Habibie had avoided taking questions for 2 days on Feisal Tanjung’s revelations. This was affecting his campaign for re-election as PKPI members were no longer attending his events. Both DPR Member Hartono and ICMI Secretary Adi Sasono campaigned around the country for the ICMI Chairmanship, the former in events attended by PKPB members and the latter attended by Islamist groups on campus.
24th November 2000:
The Summit’s Sessions today got heated when Malaysia and Cambodia today asked that the suspension of ASEAN Free Trade Area implementation preparations agreed to at the 1998 ASEAN Summit be lifted. At that 2 summit 2 years ago, all 10 ASEAN Members had agreed to delay the coming into effect of the ASEAN Free Trade Area to allow all 10 economies to recover and provide a level playing field. No consensus was reached on what step to take but even Philippines, despite being sympathetic to Indonesia, was interested.
Try was sufficiently upset at Malaysia’s conduct that he got up to speak to Badawi when the session was over in a corner of the convention room. Badawi said that his instincts was for better relations with Indonesia and for Malaysia to be in Indonesia’s bloc but that the pressure was overwhelming him from inside the Malaysian Government not to do so.
“Whatever happens to him in his country’s politics, let’s just leave him be and look for another country in the region to work closely with”, said Try.
Today was the day the ASEAN Summit became ASEAN+3 with the Presidents of China and Korea as well as the Prime Minister of Japan flying in.
Accompanied by Ginandjar Kartasasmita and Edi Sudrajat, Try got to sit down with Prime Minister of Japan Koichi Kato, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Hiroyuki Hosoda, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshiro Mori. Try congratulated Kato on his re-election the previous month. Kato thanked him for it. But to Try’s frustration, Kato maintained that he will set Japan for a “middle way” that Japan has good relations with both the United States and China. Try was not impressed with this even as Indonesia and Japan agreed for cooperation in railways.
“In Malaysia, internal politics is keeping Badawi from joining our bloc. In Japan, the Prime Minister is not all-powerful and has to deal with factions, their internal politics is probably what’s keeping Japan from falling into China’s camp”, said Ginandjar after the meeting.
25th November 2000:
It was the first meeting of the day. Try as always took Ginandjar and Edi with him. Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Tang Jiaxuan was appreciative at seeing the trio again after meeting them at the ASEM Summit. Try was most interested in President of China Jiang Zemin.
Jiang gave a survey of world affairs saying that it was a regret tha he would “lose Clinton soon”. He all but bragged about China’s power in the world stage how it will overtake Germany and Japan and how China is growing its influence in Africa. Try sat calmly. Then Jiang moved on to Indonesia saying that he would like China to have a great bilateral relationship with Indonesia because a great relationship with Indonesia could influence China’s relationship with the entire region.
“You are after all the leader in Southeast Asia”, said Jiang with a sly smile that said that he knew about what Try was doing and his struggles in it.
It was not the first time Try had met Jiang. But it was the first time Try had met Jiang after he had become increasingly active in foreign affairs and Jiang did everything in the meeting to indirectly lay down the law that Indonesia does not have the ability to challenge China. Try bit his tongue through what became a one-sided conversation. He wanted Jiang to think that his message was getting through. At the end of it all, he just said “China truly is a great nation and we have much to learn.”
The Summit drew to a close. While a communiqué was issued hailing close cooperation across various fields in Southeast Asia, Try held another meeting with Thaksin. The two agreed to form 2 teams headed respectively by Vice President JB Sumarlin and Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Barnharn Silpa-Archa to negotiate a cooperation treaty. After this was agreed to, Try flew back to Jakarta.
26th November 2000:
Chairman of ICMI BJ Habibie spent most of the Sunday afternoon at the Presidential Palace in a private meeting with the President. When he came out, Habibie told the reporters that he had explained ‘everything’ to the President and admitted bluntly that what Feisal Tanjung had said a few days ago was correct. Habibie added that he “wasn’t the only one who wanted to be president after President Soeharto had died, just the only one brave enough to express his ambitions openly”. He ended by saying that the President will be emerging soon to also make some comments before leaving.
Sure enough the President emerged some minutes after Habibie had departed with Edi Sudrajat by his side. He was immediately flooded with questions about what was his reaction to Feisal Tanjung’s revelations.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t angry when I first heard these revelations”, Try began “But it’s been a few days and I’ve thought things through. Mr. Habibie’s personal explanation to me also helped. I think Mr. Habibie did not attempt to avoid responsibility and he took ownership about what he said.”
A reporter asked if the President would consider removing ministers who are ICMI members or who are close to Habibie in the cabinet as speculated by the “rumor mill”. Try laughed at this.
“I’ve been at the ASEAN Unofficial Summit at Singapore for the last few days where the State Secretary has shielded me from following the news back home in Indonesia so I’ve been completely in the dark about news much less rumors”, Try replied while nodding and smiling at Edi “But I’ll tell you what I told Mr. Habibie in there that he’s still part of the Pancasila Coalition and ICMI members are still a part of the cabinet.”
27th November 2000:
At the Presidential Palace and in the presence of teachers, university lecturers, the President signed the Teachers and Lecturers’ Bill passed by the DPR while he was away on the ASEAN Unofficial Summit into law. The law guarantees the various rights and responsibilities of teachers and lecturers including the right to receive a salary above the minimum wage and various allowances and families as suits their rank. At the same time the law sets the qualification standards to become teachers and lecturers. Namely a bachelor’s degree or a diploma four for teachers and at least a masters’ degree to become a lecturer.
Minister of Education Wardiman Djojonegoro said that teachers will cease to be “awardless heroes” because the nation will give them an award in the form of their rights to be paid a salary that will allow them to have a living.
28th November 2000:
The President met with Minister of Religion Quraish Shihab. The latter reported that he met with Confucianists who spoke of their plight of not being able to register their marriages at the civil registry and the administrative consequences as a result of that because their religion was not recognized by the Government. Quraish explained that most Confucianists claim that they were of other religions on the ID cards but not all. Try handed Quraish’s report over to Edi and instructed that a study be conducted on it.
At a fast breaking ceremony at his official residence, Chairman of DPR Harmoko had Habibie as his guest of honor. Speaking to reporters after his event was over, Harmoko said that the “revelations” last week was nothing but an attempt by those “hostile towards the President and Habibie” to break apart the Pancasila Coalition. Chairman of Muhammadiyah Amien Rais who attended the ceremony agreed with this and said that the Pancasila Coalition and ICMI must not lose out to the “other side”.
29th November 2000:
It was a lunchtime conference, though this being the fasting month there were no food served. The President met with Vice President JB Sumarlin, Ginandjar Kartasasmita, State Minister of National Security Soerjadi, Edi Sudrajat, and I Gede Awet Sara. On Southeast Asia, the group agreed to consolidate Indonesia’s relationship with Thailand and Try officially appointed Sumarlin as head of a delegation to negotiate a treaty of cooperation with Thailand across various areas.
Try broke his fast that day with the State Secretariat and those who work there. There was a congratulatory mood for this was the 3rd anniversary of his rise to the presidency. When asked to make some comments, Try said the following:
“I’ve interacted with a lot of world leaders lately, got to learn about how their nations are doing, and ended up with the conclusion that we as a nation have a lot of catching up to do. However long I will be in this office, I hope that by the time I leave it, Indonesia would have given a good chase.”
---
So thus far we have the Philippines firmly in the Indonesian camp for the support Indonesia gave in the Philippines’ campaign against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Malaysia proving resistant, Singapore being cautious, and Thailand wanting to be Indonesia’s right hand in mainland Southeast Asia. This will be a long project for Try.
The Teacher and Lecturers’ Law is one of those things that happened a lot earlier ITTL than in OTL. But it’s also something that OTL Wardiman is concerned about as can be seen in his autobiography https://books.google.co.id/books?id...AA#v=onepage&q=wardiman uu guru dosen&f=false
The problems with Confucianist weddings not being recorded because it was not acknowledged as a religion is based on OTL https://www.liputan6.com/news/read/119151/pernikahan-pasangan-konghucu-disahkan-catatan-sipil
Habibie’s ITTL attitude of really wanting the presidency to the point of wanting to ignore Try’s claim of succession and then changing to an attitude of accepting that Try is the President to the point of becoming an ally is a replication of Habibie’s OTL attitude to the presidency of really wanting it to the point of being aggressive when he has a shot at it and being accepting when the presidency was no longer his to hold.
OTL, in the days leading to Soeharto’s fall from power, Soeharto tried to keep power by (publicly) saying on television his resignation won’t solve the crisis because he didn’t think “my successor” would be able to take care of the issue. Habibie, who was Vice President and realizing that he was first in line if Soeharto resigned, could not be more obvious that he wanted to become president was unhappy that this was the way Soeharto felt and told him so. This despite the fact that Soeharto had expected Habibie to resign along with him.
Habibie became president for 17 months and when it became obvious that his presidency was drawing to a close and that he was not enjoying the support required at the 1999 MPR General Session, Habibie without much fuss announced that he was no longer willing to be nominated and threw his weight behind eventual successor Abdurrahman Wahid.