Golkar's next challenge<\/p>\n
After Golkar's emotion-filled convention on Tuesday, it seems
\nthat the heavy downpour in Jakarta the next afternoon came as a
\nshower from heaven to douse the heat left by the race involving
\nthe party's five presidential hopefuls.<\/p>\n
The eight-hour convention in Central Jakarta that ended well
\npast midnight on Tuesday yielded (ret) Gen. Wiranto, former
\ncommander of the Indonesian Military (TNI), as the party's
\npresidential candidate.<\/p>\n
Tuesday's assemblage marked the culmination of a 14-month
\nprocess initiated by party leader Akbar Tandjung, who
\nconceptualized the party convention as a vehicle for finding the
\nbest possible leader for the nation by accepting candidates from
\nboth inside and outside the party.<\/p>\n
The outcome, however, was a bitter defeat for the man who is
\nwidely considered to be one of the nation's most talented
\npoliticians. As it turned out, the other candidates proved more
\ndifficult to beat than the charges of corruption that had been
\nleveled against him for years.<\/p>\n
When Akbar was freed from corruption charges in February, his
\nchances of victory at the convention appeared wide open. But at
\nthe crucial moment, a little past midnight Tuesday, his fate was
\nsealed. It was an outright victory for Wiranto, who had
\ncrisscrossed the archipelago in the past six months to seek
\nsupport.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the battle was interesting to watch. On the
\nfield were five candidates, including businessman Aburizal Bakrie
\nand media mogul Surya Paloh. Another candidate was Prabowo
\nSubianto, a former Army general who is a son-in-law of president
\nSoeharto. Bakrie caught people by surprise by snatching 118 out
\nof 547 votes in the first round, which put him in the third slot,
\nbut it was not enough to pull him through to the second round
\nthat eventually pitted Akbar against Wiranto.<\/p>\n
And whatever the eventual outcome, Tuesday night's convention
\nwas a Golkar showcase. The political machine that Soeharto set up
\nand the dissolution of which was demanded by the reformist
\nmovement when its chief patron fell from grace in 1998, has held
\nan unprecedented national political event.<\/p>\n
The sight of two presidential hopefuls sitting side by side
\naccompanied by their spouses right after the vote count was
\nunparalleled indeed in this country. Only several hours earlier,
\nthe two were involved in a battle of wits together with the other
\nGolkar presidential candidates. Like it or not, Golkar should be
\ncommended for holding this high-level political lesson.<\/p>\n
For 30 years under Soeharto, Golkar made a show of how to win
\na battle without really fighting -- thanks to the repressive
\nnature of the Soeharto government. Now it seems it is well into
\nthe process of undergoing total transformation by teaching the
\npeople how to accept defeat with grace.<\/p>\n
Accepting defeat is a difficult pill for the nation's leaders
\nto swallow. For 32 years under Soeharto, differing in opinion was
\nmore or less taboo. The maxim was: anyone who differs in opinion
\nis an enemy. Hence, many are inclined to see in Golkar's
\nconvention a stride forward toward the political maturity of the
\nparty's leaders as well as its constituents. Only time will tell
\nif this is true.<\/p>\n
The downside is that the two strongest contenders in the
\nconvention are tainted candidates. Wiranto has been indicted for
\nhuman rights abuses in East Timor and Akbar has yet to completely
\ndistance himself from the recent corruption charges.<\/p>\n
For some, the convention also had an ironic twist. Initially
\ndesigned to reverse Soeharto's top-down leader recruitment
\nsystem, it ended up yielding another military leader, the open
\nand democratic manner in which it was conducted notwithstanding.<\/p>\n
This is especially interesting, since another current popular
\nleader and presidential aspirant, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the
\nDemocratic Party, is also a retired military general. Although
\nretired military generals are civilians in legal terms, the call
\nof the now defunct reformist movement for a civilian government
\nhas been all but inaudible.<\/p>\n
As Wiranto relishes his newly won victory, further battle
\nfields await him. With 315 votes against Akbar's 227, he seemed
\nto have secured most of the votes from the 32 provincial
\nexecutive boards of the party, each having three voting blocks.
\nIf this is true, Golkar's grass roots are saying that they need
\nthe strongest contender to run against Susilo of the Democratic
\nParty and his running mate Jusuf Kalla. Golkar seems to be aware
\nthat the Susilo\/Kalla pair is currently the front runner in the
\npolls and is accepted by the market as well. Therefore, Golkar is
\nlooking for a figure to match Susilo. And the choice is Wiranto.<\/p>\n
One thing though has remained unchanged after the April 5
\nlegislative election, which ended with a loud and clear message:
\nthe people want change. If mother nature managed to douse the
\nemotional heat of the convention on Wednesday, will the
\nconvention be able to provide an answer to people's demands?<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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