Akbar must choose

Akbar must choose

The upheavals which have wracked the ruling Golkar since Akbar
Tandjung was elected to chair the grouping in an extraordinary
congress last July are far from over. Akbar will need all the
skill he can muster to keep Golkar afloat on our nation's
political waters. Potentially lethal reefs lying just below the
surface include Golkar's many political adversaries and the
mounting pressure to ensure the nation's civil servants, thus far
a key Golkar force, become politically neutral in the way of the
Armed Forces.

Akbar will most certainly be kept busy consolidating his party
and trying to make the most of its assets, which have been much
reduced in value by the emergence of the new political parties
and a loss of public support stemming from the groups tattered
image.

As if this wasn't enough to content with, his current position
as Minister/State Secretary threatens to drag him into a mire of
conflicting interests if the government is forced to abandon its
partisan stance toward Golkar while Akbar continues to sit at the
group's helm and hold a key position in President B.J. Habibie's
government.

Surely Akbar cannot continue to lead this double life. He must
choose now -- to continue in this dual role will be injurious to
both Akbar and the government.

-- Republika, Jakarta