A chance not to be missed

With a crucial party congress only days away, millions of Indonesians must be disgruntled to find that the country's biggest political party -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) -- is still in serious disarray months after it emerged as the country's largest party in last year's general elections.

Since attaining its leading position in Indonesian politics, the party has managed to disappoint millions of Indonesians who voted for it in the hope that it could become an effective leading element in the nation's transition from totalitarianism to democracy -- a promise that it has held out to the Indonesian public since the days of its suppression by the previous regime.

All across Indonesia, where the party lost key positions in either the local legislative assemblies, the government, or both, protests by party members and supporters erupted over what critics suspected was the involvement of popularly elected PDI Perjuangan legislators in "money politics" -- that is to say, in selling their votes and leading positions in PDI Perjuangan to candidates with far less political acumen outside the party.

The latest discouraging news involving PDI Perjuangan is that the party's central board in a meeting on Tuesday voted to block Eros Djarot -- a well-known journalist, film maker, businessman and aspiring candidate for the party's upcoming chairmanship -- from participating in next week's scheduled party congress in Semarang, thus effectively killing his chances of running for the chairman's position.

Another up-and-coming candidate, Dimyati Hartono, has thus far fared relatively well. Though opposition against his running for the chairmanship has come from several quarters within the party, no outright attempt has yet been made to force him to give up his candidacy.

But what is motivating those apparently powerful persons in the party to "block everyone except Megawati", in Eros' words, from participating in the election?

Obviously, the party at this stage of its relatively brief existence still depends heavily on the name and charisma of its current chairwoman, Indonesia's Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, to hold it together and hopefully lead it towards another election victory in 2004. There is no denying that 29 years after his tragic death under virtual house arrest, the name of this country's founding president, Sukarno, still casts a spell over millions of Indonesians.

This is, naturally, recognized by everyone, including Eros Djarot and Dimyati Hartono, whose only stated ambition is to come out of the election process with leadership positions strong enough to help turn PDI Perjuangan into a modern, well-organized party ready to take on the challenges of the new millennium.

But why the angry opposition to their candidacies? Some observers and critics have suggested that fear of the loss of vested interests among certain leading party members could be the reason.

As has been stated earlier, a commitment to democracy and improving the plight of impoverished, underprivileged Indonesians is what the party has promised throughout the many years of its heretofore suppressed existence. That is the party's true appeal to the people, with Megawati Sukarnoputri as its symbol.

It would be a shame if it should fail to fulfill this mission by missing the opportunity to modernize and broaden its appeal to include not only its traditional supporters but also the millions of better educated people who would be voting for the first time in the 2004 general elections.