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