Akbar defends his plan to hold Golkar meeting

Akbar defends his plan to hold Golkar meeting

JAKARTA (JP): Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung has
defended his decision to call for a meeting of Golkar's three
main components last Monday, which was canceled at the last
minute by former president Soeharto.

"The planning of the meeting followed proper procedures,"
Akbar told reporters yesterday, indicating another apparent rift
in the top leadership of the dominant political organization.

The meeting had been intended to accommodate differences in
the run-up to Golkar's congress next week, he said.

Invited to the meeting were representatives of the Armed
Forces, the bureaucracy and mass organizations -- the so-called
Golkar Big Family.

Soeharto used his overriding power as Golkar chief patron to
order the meeting be postponed until all the members of the board
of patrons had met beforehand.

No date had been given for the board's meeting.

Akbar and Habibie, like most other members of the Cabinet, sit
in Golkar's board of patrons.

Former vice president Try Sutrisno, who is now secretary of
the board, said Monday that the planned meeting organized by
Akbar failed to follow proper procedures.

Akbar denied that there was any rift among Golkar's patrons
and dismissed the tiff with Try as merely one of "differences"
normally found in any major organization.

He said he did not wish to refute Try's accusation because he
was his former superior in the past administration.

Golkar is facing its biggest challenge in its 34 years of
existence with many traditional supporters and organizations
breaking ranks from it while critics have accused it as the main
force keeping Soeharto in power for 32 years.

A row erupted between two camps -- one proreform and the other
reportedly supporters of Soeharto -- on the right to organize the
July 9 through July 11 congress, amidst speculations that
Soeharto and his family might try to stage a comeback through
Golkar congress.

Separately, noted Moslem leader Abdurrahman Wahid urged Golkar
leaders yesterday to be frank and quit denying internal
infighting and dissent which had become public knowledge.

"We have to be honest with the public... Stop saying that
nothing is going on. That's nonsense," Abdurrahman told reporters
at his house in Ciganjur, South Jakarta.

The chairman of the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem
organization said Golkar's rift reflected a "tug of war" between
proreform and antireform groups.

"A rift ahead of Golkar's congress demonstrates that there is
a clash of interests among their leaders," he said.

Former defense minister Edi Sudradjat said Golkar must reform
itself, but he stopped short of calling for its disbandment.

Speaking to reporters after attending the inauguration of the
Center for Leadership Excellence, a social institution for human
resources development, Edi defended Golkar's record and denied
that it was responsible for bringing the country into the present
state of near bankruptcy.

"Golkar was established in 1964 to preserve the state ideology
Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution," he said.

Edi, a retired Army general, had been mentioned as one of the
possible candidates for Golkar's chairman to replace Harmoko in
next week's congress.

Another name often mentioned is that of Try Sutrisno.

In reply to a question, Edi said he was ready to lead Golkar
if the congress elected him.

But he quickly dismissed allegations that he, or Try Sutrisno,
would help Soeharto make a political comeback.

On the Armed Forces (ABRI)'s plan to withdraw from Golkar, Edi
said the matter was for the people to decide.

Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen.
Wiranto has said that in keeping up with the reformation spirit,
ABRI would not likely continue its relationship with Golkar.
(emf/imn/byg)