Akbar to seek presidency at all costs

Akbar to seek presidency at all costs

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After showing reluctance for quite some time, Golkar chairman
Akbar Tandjung announced on Saturday his intention to contest the
presidential candidate selection at his party's convention.

Akbar, renowned as a cool-headed politician, disclosed his bid
following public discourse on his appropriateness to run for the
presidency, as he has been convicted in a Rp 40 billion (US$4.7
million) graft case. There have been demands for the police not
to issue Akbar a letter of good conduct, which is mandatory for
all convention participants.

On many occasions, Akbar had said that he had no plans to
contest the presidential candidate selection, as he was focusing
on party duties to help Golkar win the general elections on April
5, 2004.

After becoming the ruling party during former president
Soeharto's 32-year rule, Golkar finished second behind President
Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
in the 1999 election.

Now Akbar is telling the truth.

"I will participate in the stages of the convention," Akbar
said over the weekend as quoted by Antara, on the sidelines of a
function held by the Asian Parliamentary Association (AIPO) in
the Balinese capital of Denpasar.

Akbar, who is also the House of Representatives speaker,
chairs the AIPO.

He criticized those who were trying to undermine his
presidential bid, saying his exclusion from the convention was
discriminatory and unfair.

"The convention is open to everybody. Even outsiders are
welcome, so why should an insider like me should stay away?"
Akbar said.

He would not comment on whether he had requested the letter of
good conduct from the police.

Earlier, chairman of the convention's organizing committee
Oetojo Oesman called on the police not to "obstruct" Akbar's bid
for presidency. Akbar has not registered for the convention,
which will close on Aug. 7.

The Presidential Election Law passed early this month allows
defendants facing a maximum five-year sentence to run for
presidency. The House has deemed that Akbar, who is waiting for
the Supreme Court's verdict regarding his appeal, qualifies, even
though he was convicted at the lower court.

Noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid and media mogul Surya
Paloh have called on Akbar not to take part in the selection,
saying Akbar's entry would jeopardize the neutrality and
transparency of the convention.

In comparison, said Nurcholish, in the United States a party
chairman could not nominate himself as a presidential candidate.

In the Central Java capital of Semarang, Nurcholish retracted
his own statement that he would withdraw from the convention if
Akbar joined the race. Nurcholish said he would go ahead with his
bid on the grounds that he was eligible for the selection and he
was familiar with the convention.

Paloh, who is currently on a visit to the North Sulawesi
capital of Manado, also confirmed his plan to contest the
convention, despite Akbar's entry. "I have been with the party
since I was 17 years old, and I know it well," said Paloh, adding
that he was not afraid of a big name like Akbar.

Another aspiring Golkar presidential candidate, Yogyakarta
Governor Hamengkubuwono, defended Akbar's right to contest the
selection, but asked him to resign from the party's top post
beforehand.

"There is no regulation prohibiting a defendant from running
for president. But Akbar has to relinquish his post as the party
chairman for the sake of fairness and equality," Hamengkubuwono
told some 350 Golkar cadres attending a meeting held to hear his
presidential platform.

Hamengkubuwono, who is also Yogyakarta sultan, is also a
former provincial chairman of Golkar.

Golkar's Yogyakarta chapter is certain not to support Akbar's
bid due to his criminal record.

"Complying with our criteria, we cannot name a disgraced
person as our presidential candidate," Secretary of Golkar's
Yogyakarta chapter Gandung Pardiman told The Jakarta Post.

Golkar will short-list five presidential candidates by the end
of this year before selecting its sole candidate during a
national convention in February.