Habibie added that he personally prefers a military person for the post. "And for the time being, I personally think that the military must escort me," he said.
The military is needed to maintain the unity of Indonesia, Habibie said. "So for this, it is not just Wiranto, but to whoever has been a commander for Indonesia's military," he said.
Habibie took office because he was vice-president when Suharto stepped down last year. His predecessor as vice-president, Try Sutrisno, was a former military chief.
But political analysts say the military has little respect for Habibie.
The beleaguered and highly unpopular president is to deliver an accountability speech before the parliament later in the week. If parliament rejects the speech, his bid for re-election would effectively be over.
He is under massive pressure over his handling of the East Timor crisis and a major banking scandal. There are fears of widespread unrest if he is re-elected, and a reformist faction within his Golkar party is pushing to ditch him as candidate.
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