Akbar looks strong despite verdict

Akbar looks strong despite verdict

Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Convicted corruptor, and chairman of the Golkar Party, Akbar
Tandjung has been receiving increasing support from Golkar
executives around the country, giving the impression that he
remains firmly ensconced at the helm.

Golkar chapters in Bali, East Java, North Sulawesi, and East
and West Kalimantan have lined up firmly behind their embattled
chairman, Antara reported.

But such support may be fleeting as the Akbar opposition
within the Golkar Party, especially among members from the
eastern part of Indonesia, gears up for a campaign to oust him.

"Many local officials have said they received phone calls and
letters from Akbar opponents asking them to drop their support
for him," a confidante of Akbar's, who refused to be named, told
The Jakarta Post.

Nevertheless, what has been made public is the incoming
support for Akbar, despite the decision of the Central Jakarta
District Court on Wednesday to sentence him to three years in
jail for corruption.

Akbar, who is also the House of Representatives speaker, was
found guilty of embezzling Rp 40 billion (about US$ 4.44 million)
belonging to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) in early 1999. He
denied the charges, and has filed an appeal.

Immediately after the verdict, Golkar executives sprang to his
defense and rebuffed any suggestions that he be unseated. For
now, Golkar is relying on the high court to exonerate Akbar. In
the meantime, he remains at liberty.

Marzuki Achmad, who chairs the Golkar faction in the House,
said on Thursday he had received reports that Golkar members
nationwide were continuing to support Akbar.

"Everyone has agreed to keep Akbar in his job," he said,
adding that a plenary meeting on Friday night would further
clarify Golkar's position. "So far, there has been no change in
Akbar's position or his activities."

Akbar, widely known as a canny politician, survived efforts to
unseat him when he was first declared a suspect in the case
earlier this year. Prosecutors ordered him detained for several
weeks.

At the time, Golkar's then deputy secretary-general Muchyar
Yara urged the chairman to step down, arguing the investigation
was hurting the party's image.

Opposition also emerged at the time from Golkar patrons Achmad
Arnold Baramuli and Ginandjar Kartasasmita, the latter also a
graft suspect, this time involving state oil and gas company
Pertamina.

Other camps joined the protest, but analysts said that many of
these were intent on toppling Akbar rather than protecting the
party's image.

Akbar's response was swift. While he left Baramuli and
Ginandjar untouched, he suspended Muchyar and 18 other members
when the party held its leadership congress last February.

"Akbar's real power over Golkar doesn't come from authority,
it's his politeness in politics that draws sympathy," political
analyst Fachry Ali said.

Outside calls for Akbar to step down from his post as House
speaker might even prove counterproductive, according to Hermawan
Sulistiyo of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

"Faced with outside pressure, Golkar is likely to grow
stronger instead," Hermawan said.

He said the party had been consolidating since the allegations
against Akbar first surfaced in January. The party, however, may
prefer for the chairman to keep a low profile for the time being,
and let someone else act as front man, he added.

Many analysts view Golkar as the strongest political party in
terms of its organizational maturity. Akbar managed to maneuver
Golkar out from the shadow of its history as a political machine
serving Soeharto's 32-year-long authoritarian regime.

With only a year between Soeharto's fall in 1998 and the
general election, Golkar maintained its influence when it came in
second in the election, after the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).