Mega presses ahead with reelection bid<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman and Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Semarang<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) needs to pave
\nthe way for new faces to rule the party if it wants to thrive in
\nthe future, an analyst says.<\/p>\n
Senior analyst at the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI)
\nSjaiful Mujani said on Thursday it was difficult to grasp that at
\na time when the general public was longing for a sweeping change,
\nPDI-P members were impervious to the tendency and wanted to
\nmaintain the status quo in the party under the current leadership
\nof Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
"Megawati's failure to win the presidential race could serve
\nas a wake-up call for PDI-P members that they should ponder other
\npossibilities. Otherwise the party will be stagnant," Sjaiful
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Sjaiful was speaking in response to a survey published by a
\nlittle-known research center, the Data, Research and
\nCommunication Strategy (Rekode), which said that although the
\nmajority of PDI-P members deemed their party had performed
\npoorly, the incumbent leader was not to blame for the slump.<\/p>\n
Rekode found that of 1,200 respondents in 11 provinces, 40
\npercent said the PDI-P had failed to perform in the 2004
\nlegislative election and only 34 percent stated otherwise.
\nHowever, when asked about the performance of Megawati, 93 percent
\nof the respondents said they were satisfied with her leadership.<\/p>\n
The survey was conducted ahead of the party's congress in Bali
\nfrom March 28 to April 2.<\/p>\n
Sjaiful found such a discrepancy hard to comprehend as the
\nparty leadership would contribute a lot to and be responsible for
\nthe party's performance.<\/p>\n
"It is difficult to believe that a leader is not to blame for
\ntheir party's failure. I call this (view) the product of a highly
\nactive imagination," he said.<\/p>\n
In late January, a group of PDI-P members founded a movement
\naimed at ending Megawati's leadership of the PDI-P and replacing
\nher with a new figure -- her younger brother, Guruh
\nSoekarnoputra, being among names mentioned.<\/p>\n
Spearheaded by businessman-cum-politician Arifin Panigoro, the
\nmovement also sought to diminish Megawati's prerogatives over the
\nparty.<\/p>\n
Despite the calls for her withdrawal from the race, Megawati
\nsaid she would press ahead with her bid for a third successive
\nfive-year mandate.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Semarang, Megawati said the majority of PDI-P
\nconstituents were behind her.<\/p>\n
"As a matter of fact, I once told my husband that I would
\nretire after the 2004 general election. But, after watching
\nclosely the internal rift within the PDI-P and looking at the
\ncurrent political developments, I don't have the heart to drop my
\ncandidacy," she told party members who had gathered for a special
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
She doubted that other candidates who joined the race had the
\ngrassroots support she did.<\/p>\n
Megawati also said she had spoken with Guruh and advised him
\nto think twice before contesting against her. "I suggested that
\nhe should only engage himself in arts and culture," she said.<\/p>\n
Guruh is one of the country's prominent choreographers and
\nsong writers.<\/p>",
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