MKGR breaks ranks with Golkar<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Golkar, the political grouping that has
\ndominated Indonesian politics since the early 1970s, is showing
\nsigns of unraveling since two of its strongest allies have
\nindicated their intent to break away.<\/p>\n
Musyawarah Kekeluargaan dan Gotong Royong (MKGR), a group that
\nhelped form Golkar, declared itself a new, separate party from
\nthe political organization in a media briefing yesterday. MKGR
\nchairwoman Mien Sugandhi hinted that many individual members of
\nGolkar-affiliated organizations had long felt restricted in their
\naspirations.<\/p>\n
Kosgoro, the business wing of Golkar, indicated Monday it was
\nstudying the possibility of turning into an independent political
\nparty.<\/p>\n
The third major group in Golkar is SOKSI, chaired by
\nSuhardiman.<\/p>\n
\"We establish the MKGR Party in order to anticipate (changes
\nbrought) by the reform campaign, and the (planned) establishment
\nof new laws on political parties,\" Mien told reporters.<\/p>\n
\"This party is founding itself on the state ideology of
\nPancasila and is open to anyone who wishes to join,\" she said.
\nShe added the decision to turn MKGR into a party was made with
\nthe support of its members, which she claimed numbered 25 million
\nin 27 chapters nationwide.<\/p>\n
Mien, former state minister of women's roles in the sixth
\ndevelopment cabinet, said the organization had started working on
\na draft for the party's statutes.<\/p>\n
She dismissed allegations that she and her colleagues meant to
\ndeflate Golkar at a time when the winds of change were blowing
\nacross the country.<\/p>\n
Golkar's chief patron is former president Soeharto, and it
\nlists high-ranking officials as patrons and advisors. For more
\nthan two decades, Golkar had been the political machinery for
\nSoeharto's New Order administration, winning all general
\nelections in order to ensure that he stayed in power.<\/p>\n
Only one year ago, Golkar won the general election with an
\noverwhelming majority under the guidance of now Speaker of the
\nHouse of Representatives Harmoko.<\/p>\n
Harmoko is still the chairman of the political grouping.<\/p>\n
Mien said: \"The MKGR party is meant to provide room for the
\npoor and middle-class to channel their aspirations.\"<\/p>\n
\"From now on, the aspirations of MKGR members will be
\nchanneled through the new MKGR party, not Golkar anymore,\" she
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Mien, however, insisted that MKGR was never an ally of Golkar,
\nalthough it was true that its members had always \"channeled their
\npolitical aspirations\" through the dominant political
\norganization.<\/p>\n
Laws<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the new government under President B.J. Habibie,
\nattempting to show its commitment to reform, has promised to
\namend the five political laws long criticized as having curtailed
\npublic participation in politics.<\/p>\n
One of the laws, for instance, stipulates only three
\ncontestants in the general election, namely Golkar, the Moslem-
\nbased United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI).<\/p>\n
Some groups have seized on the momentum of reform and have
\ndeclared their intent to set up their own political parties,
\nregardless that the existing laws are still in effect.<\/p>\n
On Monday, for instance, a group of labor activists
\nestablished the Indonesian Workers Party (PPI). Some prominent
\ngroups, such as the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem
\norganization, have received calls urging them to declare their
\nown parties.<\/p>\n
NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, in a retraction of an earlier
\nstatement, said he would not object if NU chapters or branches
\ncalled for the organization to set up a political party.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, quoted by Antara, said the executive board would
\nstudy such a proposal, if there were any. \"What's certain is that
\nwe will not thwart... the aspirations of our members at the
\ngrassroots level,\" Abdurrahman was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, also said NU was
\ntechnically ready to become a political party. \"We have the
\nsources to set up a party as we did in the 1950s and the 1960s,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid said
\nyesterday people were free to establish their own political
\nparties.<\/p>\n
\"We provide the freedom to the people to establish political
\nparties. However, the validity of the existence of the parties
\nwill depend on the new law on political parties, the draft of
\nwhich is still being prepared,\" he told reporters after a limited
\ncoordinative meeting on political affairs and security.<\/p>\n
Separately, newly released government critic Sri Bintang
\nPamungkas said in Bandung, West Java, he would officially
\nregister his Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI) -- which so
\nfar has never been recognized -- with the Ministry of Home
\nAffairs on June 1.<\/p>\n
\"We will consolidate our members in 16 party branches in a
\ntwo-day congress on Friday and Saturday,\" he told reporters after
\naddressing thousands of students at the private-run Bandung
\nIslamic University and the state-run Bandung Institute of
\nTechnology.<\/p>\n
There has also been speculation that Megawati Soekarnoputri,
\nwho was ousted from her post as the chairwoman of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party in a government-backed breakaway congress in
\n1996, would establish her own party.<\/p>\n
She has yet to announce any such plans.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, however, she called on the People's Consultative
\nAssembly (MPR) to convene an extraordinary session to ask for
\nSoeharto's account for the economic crisis and alleged
\nmismanagement of the state affairs.<\/p>\n
\"We have to stick to the 1945 Constitution that any
\n'immediate' presidential succession must be held before an
\nextraordinary session of the Assembly,\" she said at her residence
\nin Kebagusan subdistrict, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
She cited the presidential succession from the late president
\nSukarno to Soeharto in 1967, which was held before an
\nextraordinary session of the Provisional People's Consultative
\nAssembly (MPRS). (imn\/43)<\/p>",
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