PDI Perjuangan weakened by its own leader<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Internal rifts in the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle
\n(PDI Perjuangan) have surfaced of late, and, if not dealt with
\nproperly, could weaken the country's largest political party.<\/p>\n
And the trigger for these rifts is the very person who made
\nthe party as powerful as it is -- Megawati Soekarnoputri, the
\nparty's chairwoman.<\/p>\n
Controversial decisions by Megawati to block a proposed
\ninvestigation of a graft case involving Golkar Party chairman
\nAkbar Tandjung, and to support the reelection of Jakarta Governor
\nSutiyoso have triggered acts of defiance by party members across
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
When the time came for the House of Representatives to vote on
\nthe formation of a team to look into the Akbar case, many PDI
\nPerjuangan legislators abstained or voted for the proposal,
\ndefying Megawati's desire to block the investigation.<\/p>\n
One of those who voted for the formation of the team, Indira
\nDamayanti Sugondo, later tendered her resignation from the House
\nin an apparent protest against Megawati's stance.<\/p>\n
Indira was the third PDI Perjuangan legislator to leave the
\nHouse, following Sophan Sophiaan and Dimyati Hartono.<\/p>\n
And some members of the party's Jakarta branch have publicly
\nopposed Megawati's decision to back Sutiyoso in the gubernatorial
\nelection.<\/p>\n
Also, according to some reports, PDI Perjuangan's Bali and
\nEast Java branches have gone their own ways, not implementing the
\npolicies of Megawati and the party's central board.<\/p>\n
Ironically, these little rebellions are taking place with
\nMegawati at the peak of her political career, as the country's
\nPresident.<\/p>\n
Sophan, the first PDI Perjuangan legislator to resign from the
\nHouse, said public trust in the party was currently at its lowest
\nlevel.<\/p>\n
\"All of these shows of defiance will definitely weaken the
\nparty. I have never seen these kinds of acts before,\" Sophan told
\nThe Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He said these internal fractures were becoming a real threat
\nbecause for the first time they had begun to involve the party's
\ngrassroots supporters, who form the bulk of the party's voters.<\/p>\n
It was reported by Tempo magazine in its latest edition that
\ndisappointed grassroots voters had established the Communication
\nForum for PDI Perjuangan Cadres, as a meeting point for
\ndisillusioned party supporters.<\/p>\n
The magazine said branches of the forum had begun to spread
\nthroughout the country, even reaching Papua.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon is happening, Sophan said, because many of the
\nparty's executives want to retain power by making peace with the
\nold power players from the New Order, like the Golkar Party and
\nthe Indonesian Military (TNI).<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, some reform-minded party executives want to keep
\nalive the spirit of the reform movement, which began when
\nSoeharto fell from power in 1998.<\/p>\n
PDI Perjuangan, which became the largest party after the
\nreform movement and collected 34 percent of the vote in the 1999
\ngeneral election, does not appear to be ready to dominate the
\npolitical field. It sometimes seems the party is trapped by the
\nlure of power, and forgets about the reform movement that it rode
\nto prominence.<\/p>\n
If the internal bickering continues and Megawati fails to take
\naction to rectify the situation, the party will be hard pressed
\nto muster the same level of support in the 2004 general election
\nas it received in the previous elections.<\/p>\n
Sophan warned that the fate of the Indonesian Democratic Party
\n(PDI), of which Megawati was a member until 1994, could
\neventually befall PDI Perjuangan.<\/p>\n
He recalled how members and supporters fled the Soeryadi-led
\nPDI because of their anger over the intervention of former
\npresident Soeharto in the party.<\/p>\n
He warned that supporters might abandon PDI Perjuangan because
\nof \"disappointment with the party itself\".<\/p>\n
Sophan's warning about the loss of trust the party is
\nexperiencing should not be lightly dismissed.<\/p>\n
But party executives, especially those close to Megawati, seem
\nto be doing just that, playing down the threats by saying that
\nPDI Perjuangan had always been colored with dissenting opinions.<\/p>\n
\"We are a democratic party, people have always had different
\nviews. It has always been like that since the day we were
\nestablished,\" the party's deputy chairman, Roy BB Janis, told the
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Roy also played down the possibility that there would be an
\nexodus from PDI Perjuangan, saying the party still had faith in
\nthe daughter of founding president Sukarno.<\/p>\n
Political analyst Fachry Ali agreed with this view, saying
\nthat although Megawati was losing her traditional supporters, who
\nformed the backbone of PDI Perjuangan's election success in 1999,
\nshe still had no competition within the party from other leaders.<\/p>\n
But Sophan was of a different opinion, saying he would not be
\nsurprised if some party branches considered proposing a special
\ncongress to replace Megawati as chairperson.<\/p>\n
\"That could happen because she has abandoned the ideology of
\nthe party, which was to side with the people,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that to save the party, the executive board should
\nchange its leadership style and begin to lend an ear to the
\npeople's wishes.<\/p>\n
\"Mega must listen to the people and their aspirations. That is
\nthe only thing that can save the battered image of the party,\"
\nSophan said.<\/p>\n
However, whether Megawati will change her leadership style or
\nback down from controversial decisions because of pressure from
\nthe party's grassroots supporters remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
As one of Megawati's close aides said: \"It is not her style to
\nchange a decision just because people ask her to do so.\"<\/p>\n
When asked if she would maintain this style, even at the cost
\nof the party's political image, the aide said: \"I guess so.\"<\/p>",
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