The PDI predicament<\/p>\n
When Megawati Soekarnoputri, the eldest daughter of this
\nnation's first president, Sukarno, was elected to the chair of
\nthe Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in a chaotic, yet
\ndemocratic, party congress last year in Surabaya, East Java, many
\nobservers predicted she would soon be overwhelmed by \"problems\".<\/p>\n
She certainly has been.<\/p>\n
The party, notorious for its internal conflicts over the last
\ntwo decades, began as a government-sponsored merger in 1971
\nbetween nationalist and Christian parties. Since its birth it has
\npractically never been free of political squabbles, particularly
\nwithin the former nationalist party (PNI) faction.<\/p>\n
Obviously, Megawati's legacy, as a daughter of Sukarno, who
\nwas the founder of PNI in the late 1920s, has fallen short of
\nstopping party members from rebelling against her.<\/p>\n
Following another chaotic election in PDI's East Java chapter,
\nrebel members have set up their own self-styled provincial
\nchairmanship under Latief Pudjasakti. With the backing of East
\nJava Governor Basofi Sudirman, Latief succeeded in defending his
\nchairmanship against disciplinary measures taken by Megawati.
\nEarlier this week, Latief went as far as to organize a small
\nrally to demand the resignation of Megawati.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, apparently encouraged by the government's
\nconspicuously dubious decision to \"let PDI settle its own
\ninternal conflicts\", anti-Megawati elements in several party
\nchapters and branches have set up rival leaderships. And a member
\nof the PDI executive board, dismissed on the basis of
\nindiscipline, has even joined the rebel camp.<\/p>\n
One could easily surmise that what has happened to PDI is
\nsimply what happens to any organization whose leadership is not
\nin concordance with the government's wishes, or which has lost
\nthe government's favor. It is no secret that the government was
\nnot happy when Megawati, against all odds, was elected to chair
\nPDI.<\/p>\n
Some observers believe that certain officials may be alarmed
\nby the growing popularity of PDI among the younger generation.
\nAnd it has been deemed possible that under Megawati's leadership,
\nPDI could further dent the strength of the government-backed
\nGolkar in the coming election.<\/p>\n
Thus, one cannot easily shed the notion that somehow there is
\nsome sort of involvement by officials behind all these problems
\nof PDI, in the sense that the turmoil is perhaps being
\norchestrated in order to weaken the party. The East Java
\ngovernor's continued backing of Latief, who has been dismissed by
\nPDI's executive board, for example, has given the impression that
\nsomehow the government wants to hold open the option of meddling
\nin PDI's internal affairs.<\/p>\n
What is most saddening is that this has been done under the
\npretext that it is in accordance with the existing law that a
\ngovernor, and subsequently the home affairs minister, function as
\nthe \"supervisors\" of domestic politics.<\/p>\n
No wonder, given the current political situation, many
\nobservers are pessimistic about the future of the political
\nparties and organizations in this country. There are just too
\nmany hurdles, either in the form of laws, or covert interference,
\nto enable them to perform as truly independent political
\nentities.<\/p>\n
The root of the problem, of course, lies in just how far the
\ngovernment will go in allowing the political parties to function
\nas such, or at what speed it will let the democratization process
\nproceed.<\/p>\n
As we will be entering the next millennium soon, with the
\nprospect of global free trade looming high in the sky, one could
\nexpect that a new spirit of political openness would be in order.
\nWe believe that economic liberalization cannot work without
\npolitical freedom.<\/p>\n
All in all, with regard to the PDI problem, as long as those
\nofficials continue to meddle in PDI's internal affairs, or fail
\nto take a clear stance, recognizing only Megawati's leadership,
\nthus discouraging anti-Megawati elements, one cannot expect to
\nsee PDI free of \"problems\". The situation may even get worse.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-pdi-predicament-1447893297",
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