'PDI-P congress did accommodate demand for reform'<\/p>\n
On the heels of its defeats in the 2004 legislative and
\npresidential elections, the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI-P) has formed a new central board under the
\nleadership of Megawati Soekarnoputri, vowing to lure back and
\nreach out to voters ahead of the 2009 elections. The Jakarta
\nPost's M. Taufiqurrahman and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja talked at
\nlength with the party's new secretary-general Pramono Anung
\nWibowo about the party's future direction.<\/p>\n
Question: What does the new lineup mean? It has people that have
\nbeen left in the cold in the past years such as former secretary
\ngeneral Alexander Litaay and other people who joined the reform
\ndrive such as Guruh Soekarnoputra.
\nAnswer: The lineup is an indication that Mbak Mega (party
\npresident Megawati Soekarnoputri) took into consideration the
\nplurality of PDI-P coverage of regions. The party consists of
\nfour regions, Sumatra which is represented by people like Mangara
\nSiahaan, Agnetta Singadikane, Java and Bali which are represented
\nby people like myself, Soetjipto, Tjahjo Kumolo and Dewi Jaksa,
\nKalimantan is represented by Emir Moeis and the eastern part of
\nIndonesia is represented by Sony Keraf, Litaay and Jacob Nuwa
\nWea. However, she also took the people's capability into
\nconsideration when selecting them.
\nLitaay had been banished from the party but now he has been taken
\nback into the party fold. Does this indicate that PDI-P is
\nembarking on a reconciliation drive after a much-publicized rift?<\/p>\n
There was no rift during the congress. Clashing views between
\ntwo opposing groups is nothing unusual and it is part of
\ndemocracy, which has been developing within the party. The basic
\nconcept that has been proposed by the so-called reform group is
\ngood, maybe it is their way to express that which is unacceptable
\nand it gave rise to an opposition from participants in the
\ncongress.<\/p>\n
There is a prevailing sentiment within the PDI-P that a direct
\nchallenge to Megawati will be met with grassroots opposition. The
\nreform drive, which was campaigned for while local party branches
\nheld their convention to nominate candidates for the new party
\nleadership, received only a lukewarm response.<\/p>\n
In the end the local branches still nominated Ibu Mega. Among
\nindications that the grassroots members still wanted Ibu Mega was
\nthat her supporters were not well-organized, as opposed to
\nsupporters of the reform group who seemed to be well-prepared. It
\nalso showed that members of the party were also enthusiastic at
\nseeing PDI-P as an opposition force, this is like the rebirth of
\nour true spirit.<\/p>\n
In the reform group, there are people like Laksamana Sukardi,
\nSukowaluyo Mintohardjo, and Mochtar Buchori, people who have been
\nwith the party for a long time and have contributed much to the
\nparty. Will the new leadership embrace them or alienate them?<\/p>\n
PDI-P is not a static party. However, there are a few things
\nthat will be left unchanged: Pancasila as the national ideology,
\nits populist orientation and democracy and openness. They could
\nonly be scrapped with the approval from four-fifths of our party
\nmembers, but this is very unlikely.<\/p>\n
For those who stood against the Bali congress, those who see
\nthe party from a different perspective, we will not shut them out
\naltogether. In fact, it is a positive contribution to the party
\nand the ideas were shared by some of the local branches during
\nthe congress. But on the surface, the reform idea appeared to
\nfocus on efforts to reduce the power of the party leader
\n(Megawati), whether or not she will still be granted with so much
\nauthority and whether or not she has the sole right to handpick
\nmembers of the central board. The issue is just the sum of the
\nwhole part.<\/p>\n
What will be the future relations between the party
\nestablishment and the reform group?<\/p>\n
The shifting of alliance within the congress is very dynamic,
\nbut it should not harm our relationship as party members who
\nshare the same ideals. I am of the opinion that we should sit
\ntogether and find an amicable solution.<\/p>\n
The party performed poorly in the 2004 elections and the slump
\nwas blamed on the party's tarnished image. What measures will the
\nnew board take to restore the party's image?<\/p>\n
We are fully aware that the poor performance was the result of
\nour deteriorating image. After being marginalized for so long,
\nPDI-P changed overnight into a ruling party. This resulted in the
\nchange of behavior among our members, some of them forgot their
\nroots and left their constituents.<\/p>\n
To mend this, we set up an information and communication
\ndepartment that will do all the public relations work. It will be
\ntasked with communicating all the good things within the PDI-P to
\nthe public. In the past, the public was only exposed to our
\nmembers' ill behavior such as gambling, adultery and drug abuse.<\/p>\n
Did the congress produce any change pertaining to the party
\nleader's authority?<\/p>\n
We shied away from discussing whether or not the party leader
\nhas the sole right to determine members of the central board, but
\nwe set a criteria that to be nominated for the PDI-P top post,
\ncandidates must be nominated by 25 percent of the congress
\ndelegates.<\/p>\n
However, we saw in the congress that Megawati was the only
\ncandidate that won approval from more than 25 percent of the
\ndelegates and her accountability report, in fact, was approved by
\nalmost 100 percent of the delegates.<\/p>\n
And according to the new statute, which states that if a
\ncandidate wins more than 75 percent of support, she or he will
\nunanimously be declared a new leader. Hence, Megawati is the
\nparty leader for the 2005-2010 term.<\/p>\n
Authority has been granted to Megawati on the issues of
\nnational ideology, the form of state, the preamble of the state
\nConstitution and issues relating to the party organization. The
\nlast issue sparked a heated debate during the congress and in the
\nend, we agreed to modify it.<\/p>\n
The prerogatives are still given to strategic issues that will
\nhave a long-term impact for the party. We hope that the
\nmodification can dispel worries that her power could be abused to
\ngive favor to candidates who contest in the local elections.
\nBased on past experiences, delegates in the congress feared that
\nsuch power could be abused by those in Megawati's inner circle
\nbecause she did not have enough time to do everything. But now
\nthey can be assured that it won't happen again, because the party
\nleader must deliver an accountability report.
\nHow did PDI-P prepare itself for the 2009 elections?<\/p>\n
The congress has decided that PDI-P will play an effective
\nopposition role and we have turned ideals into action by forming
\na shadow cabinet. Our central board lineup also has departments
\nthat oversee issues such as regional autonomy, internal and
\nexternal affairs, defense and the environment. These departments
\nwill work to draw up alternative policies to be judged against
\nthose offered by the government. This is unprecedented because
\nthus far, there have been no political parties that openly
\ndeclared themselves an opposition.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pdi-p-congress-did-accommodate-demand-for-reform-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}