Golkar to finish fourth due to Akbar factor: Fahmi<\/p>\n
Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
The former ruling Golkar Party will finish a history-low
\nfourth in the next general elections if convicted fraudster and
\nparty chairman Akbar Tandjung continues to refuse to step aside,
\na party deputy chairman said Friday.<\/p>\n
Fahmi Idris, one of four leading Golkar senior executives who
\nconsiders Akbar a liability, said the convicted criminal would be
\nresponsible for the party's showing in the 2004 elections if he
\ninsisted on maintaining his position.<\/p>\n
"I imagine if that (finishing fourth) happens, all Golkar
\ncadres will denounce Pak Akbar. They will protest and blame Pak
\nAkbar for the poor result," Fahmi said during a party function
\nhere, which was also attended by Akbar.<\/p>\n
Golkar finished second behind President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan) in the last election in 1999 after winning the
\nmajority vote in each of the previous six polls under long-time
\npresident Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Fahmi based his argument on several polls which predicted
\nGolkar would flop in the elections. Some of the surveys did not
\neven name Akbar one of the country's future leaders.<\/p>\n
He said he had personally told Akbar of his position.<\/p>\n
"I told him he could have a different opinion regarding the
\ncurrent development. But I'm very concerned about Akbar's fate,
\nbecause as a chess player if we could perceive him, he has no
\nroom to attack and at the same time possesses an ailing king,"
\nFahmi said.<\/p>\n
Fahmi, a businessman and a former minister under President
\nB.J. Habibie between 1998 and 1999, had once been known as
\nAkbar's loyal aide.<\/p>\n
Fahmi has joined fellow deputy chairpersons Marwah Daud
\nIbrahim, Theo Sambuaga and Agung Laksono in demanding Akbar be
\nbarred from party affairs after the Central Jakarta Court jailed
\nhim for three years for graft involving the State Logistics
\nAgency in 1999 when he was a minister\/state secretary.<\/p>\n
Many say the funds were used to help finance the Golkar
\ncampaign for the 1999 general election.<\/p>\n
Akbar is appealing the verdict, a move which has helped him
\nevade prison so far.<\/p>\n
A campaign against Akbar is also underway at the House of
\nRepresentatives in which he holds the speaker's post. A group of
\nlegislators, including some from Golkar, are presenting a motion
\nto dismiss him.<\/p>\n
A Golkar legislator Ariady Achmad said senior legislators from
\nGolkar, including Fahmi, Agung and Sambuaga, were present at "two
\nor three" meetings aimed at soliciting support for the suspension
\nof Akbar.<\/p>\n
A PDI Perjuangan legislator, Dwi Ria Latifa, who spearheads
\nthe anti-Akbar motion at the House, said at least 15 Golkar
\nlawmakers had joined the move.<\/p>\n
In response to the pressures, Akbar said he would not buckle,
\nclaiming that he enjoyed considerable support from party
\nfollowers at the grassroots level.<\/p>\n
He said he took the results of recent polls lightly, saying
\nthey did not represent objective views.<\/p>\n
"I have found the support for me from people in the regional
\nchapters remains strong," Akbar said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Akbar expressed disappointment with a number of Golkar
\nlegislators who had joined the motion to unseat him.<\/p>\n
"I have always been open enough to them so far, why did they
\nnot talk to me first? As speaker I welcome anyone who wants to
\nmeet me," Akbar said.<\/p>\n
Due to the mounting pressure on Akbar, Golkar has delayed its
\nexecutive meeting scheduled for this month to next January.<\/p>",
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