Akbar contemplates firing three Golkar chairpersons

Akbar contemplates firing three Golkar chairpersons

Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung is considering firing
three party chairpersons for demanding he resign over his graft
conviction.

Akbar said young party cadres were pressuring him to fire
chairpersons Marwah Daud Ibrahim, Theo Sambuaga and Fahmi Idris.
But he added it was just an idea at this stage.

"The reaction against calls for my resignation is strong among
the young (Golkar members)," Akbar was quoted by Antara as saying
on Monday.

The three senior Golkar members questioned Akbar's leadership
after he was sentenced to three years in jail by the Central
Jakarta Court last month. The court found him guilty of stealing
Rp 40 billion (about US$4.4 million) from the National Logistics
Agency (Bulog). The money was earmarked for the poor.

Akbar has denied any wrongdoing and is appealing the verdict,
during which time he is allowed to remain free.

He maintained he had the full backing of his party.

He admitted there had been talk of his resignation, but said
this was an internal issue. The majority of Golkar wanted him to
maintain his post, he claimed.

Akbar's conviction has widened a rift in Golkar which first
emerged when he was named a graft suspect in February.

Last month, Marwah urged Akbar to resign or else be forced to
quit. While she and Fahmi urged Akbar to quit his post as House
of Representatives Speaker as well, Theo suggested he should only
drop his Golkar chairmanship.

Marwah hails from an old dissenting camp within Golkar, the
Iramasuka, mainly comprised of members from the eastern parts of
Indonesia.

Her camp reportedly still holds a grudge against Akbar for his
failure to support the accountability speech of then president
B.J. Habibie, from South Sulawesi, in 1999. Habibie then decided
not to contest the presidential elections.

Golkar's joint secretary Suhardiman dismissed Marwah as just
representing herself, claiming Akbar had the support of Golkar
members in eastern Indonesia.

"Keeping Akbar has been a precalculated risk," he said,
referring to Golkar's chances in the 2004 general election with
Akbar at its helm.

But Theo and Fahmi's defiance marked a sudden turn, with Fahmi
once warning of a backlash if political parties pushed for
Akbar's dismissal as House Speaker.

Theo said he had not heard of suggestions to oust him. "I'll
state my position if its getting real," Theo told The Jakarta
Post.

He said any plan to dismiss Golkar's executives would require
the approval of the party's national congress.

"The national congress has elected the chairman and the
executives, so it is only this forum that can dismiss them," Theo
said.

To call for an extraordinary national congress, he added, the
party would need the support of at least two thirds of its 30
provincial chapters.

However, this would not be the first time that Akbar has moved
against party members who oppose him. Earlier this year, he
suspended the party's deputy secretary general Muchyar Yara after
he questioned his leadership when the Bulog graft case erupted.

Analysts have said support for Akbar remains strong and even
extends to outside his party.

In July, the House's biggest faction, the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), blocked a
political investigation of the scandal.

This time, a number of legislators from a number of House
factions attempted to unseat Akbar from his position in the House
by signing a petition for his ouster.

The list, however, failed to secure half of the 500
legislators' signatures, and although it takes only 10 signatures
to suggest the establishment of a disciplinary committee, the
chances are slim that the House will follow up on it.