Harmoko revamps Golkar wing at the House<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The unprecedented reshuffle in the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR) wing of Golkar, announced on Monday,
\nreflects the ruling party's intention to stop dissension within
\nits own ranks once and for all, political analysts said.<\/p>\n
Golkar chairman Harmoko revamped Golkar in a single stroke,
\nremoving members closely associated with his predecessor Wahono
\nfrom key positions.<\/p>\n
Usman Hasan, the Golkar faction chairman, was replaced after
\nholding the top spot for less than two years. Normally this and
\nother key positions in the factions are held for five years.<\/p>\n
This is the most important move taken by Harmoko since he
\nreplaced Wahono last October. Wahono will continue to retain
\ninfluence in Golkar's faction in the DPR through his loyal
\nsupporters. He also remains both speaker of the house and the
\nchairman of the People's Consultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
Harmoko after announcing the new leadership of Golkar on
\nTuesday stressed that the changes were a routine matter with no
\npolitical considerations behind the selections.<\/p>\n
The changes did not come as a surprise as they have been
\nwidely rumored for the past few months.<\/p>\n
Noted political analyst Amir Santoso yesterday said the shake-
\nup reflects Harmoko's intention to improve communication and
\nstrengthen the relationship between his executive board and the
\nGolkar faction in the DPR.<\/p>\n
\"I believe there has been a problem of internal communication.
\nThe old faction leaders have been replaced because they failed to
\ncommunicate with the board,\" Amir told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The executive board appeared to be focusing on promoting a
\nunited front between the faction and the board, which in the past
\nhas been beset by disagreements, said Amir, a senior staff
\nlecturer at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Amir noted that the executive board and the faction have been
\nwalking on their own paths, chiefly because the faction members
\nhave been disappointed by the board's performance.<\/p>\n
Some Golkar members in the DPR have been among the
\ngovernment's chief critics, something which was encouraged by
\nWahono when he chaired the ruling political organization.<\/p>\n
With Harmoko at the helm, criticism against the government is
\nexpected to decline significantly, especially following the
\nreshuffle.<\/p>\n
Too early<\/p>\n
Harmoko, the first civilian to rise to the Golkar
\nchairmanship, also serves as Minister of Information in President
\nSoeharto's cabinet.<\/p>\n
Amir said it is too early to predict if the reshuffle would
\ncreate more problems in Golkar rather than improve its general
\nperformance. \"They (new members) are still new in their area. It
\nremains to be seen how they will lead the faction.\"<\/p>\n
He said that the outspoken legislators remain in the fold
\nalthough they no longer hold key positions. This means that they
\ncould still launch their criticism against Golkar or the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Harmoko has appointed Moestahid Astari as the new faction
\nchairman while Andi Mattalatta was promoted to secretary in place
\nof Novyan Kaman.<\/p>\n
Astari is currently the deputy secretary general of the
\ncentral executive board. His political career was thought to have
\nended after the 1992 general election when he failed to secure a
\nHouse seat as a candidate from East Java. He gained the seat in
\n1993 to replace Mien Sugandhi who was appointed minister of
\nwomen's affairs by President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Astari also sits on the executive board of the Association of
\nIndonesian Islamic Intellectuals (ICMI).<\/p>\n
Usman, once seen as a young and promising Golkar politician,
\nhas been assigned as an ordinary member of the DPR's Commission
\nIV which deals with farming, forestry and fishery.<\/p>\n
Two other outspoken Golkar legislators, Tadjudin Noer Said and
\nBambang Warih, have been reassigned from Commission VI (mining,
\nindustry, electricity and investment) to the house's budgetary
\ncommission.<\/p>\n
Astari in his first press briefing also tried to play down the
\nsignificance of the reshuffle by saying that he would continue
\nthe policies of his predecessors which do not contradict with the
\ndirectives of the executive board.<\/p>\n
Astari said he never had any pretense that the faction had
\nfailed to do its job at the House, adding that the reshuffle
\nsimply aimed at \"refreshing\" the legislators. (par)<\/p>",
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