A new political alliance

A new political alliance

Golkar's recent nomination of the care-taker head of state,
B.J. Habibie, as its presidential candidate has seriously
disenchanted all reform-minded political parties.

Although the decision was predicted by many -- since Golkar
still operates like the political machine of former president
Soeharto, and Habibie is his protege -- opponents now feel the
danger of a return to New Order politics, which will derail the
reform efforts and plunge the country into a more serious crisis.

Although to most Indonesians Habibie is better known for his
special brand of political burlesque, his failures since assuming
the presidency a year ago are horrible. With the term of his
administration approaching, people are beginning to see a
dreadful picture of the country's future: worsening national
disintegration marked by bloody communal, racial and religious
clashes and accompanied by widespread protests by angry young
people and brutal military crackdowns. And the law will be kept
at bay.

In an apparent effort to save the nation from this
catastrophe, three leading pro-reform political parties -- the
National Mandate Party (PAN), the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the National Awakening Party (PKB)
-- set up an alliance. They said they will fight against forces
supporting the status quo.

Although the three parties did not name any political entity
in their statement, the public understands that the alliance has
their sights set on Golkar.

The loose alliance of the three parties, which many observers
believe will win a majority of the vote in the June 7 general
election, was reinforced on Friday by the support of two Muslim
parties: The United Development Party (PPP) and the newly
established Justice Party (PK) joined the anti-status quo cause.

PAN chairman Amien Rais signed on Friday a joint communique
with the leaders of PPP and PK, affirming their united stance for
reform. The three parties agreed not to nominate Habibie as the
country's next president.

Like the accord reached by PAN and the two other parties
earlier, Friday's agreement also called for the presidential and
vice presidential elections to be held three months after the
June 7 poll's results are made official.

Last weeks maneuver is surely a major step forward in the
reform movement. However, PAN and PK must demand consistency from
PPP in this campaign, due the latter's close relationship with
the President in the past.

PPP is also not yet free of the New Order virus, because many
pro-Soeharto elements are still active in the party. A leader of
the party has said it would be impossible to form a coalition
with Golkar because the former ruling party has raped and robbed
PPP for a long time.

The claim might be true in some ways, but PPP must have been a
cooperative victim. Its noisiest fight was to support Soeharto's
reelection in 1997.