Alex toppled in battle for Jakarta PDI top position

Alex toppled in battle for Jakarta PDI top position

JAKARTA (JP): Lukman F. Mokoginta was elected as the new
chairman of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) in a surprisingly nonviolent regional congress
yesterday.

Lukman, 45, toppled the party's controversial outgoing boss
MAS Alex Asmasoebrata, the top-seeded nominee until the closing
hours of the two-day congress at the seaside Hotel Horison.

Alex lost the post he had held for two consecutive 10 year
periods to Lukman in a closed election attended by
representatives from the board's five branches throughout the
city.

Lukman, a city councilor, businessman and boss of the Young
Democrats, a youth organization affiliated with PDI, won 15 votes
to Alex's six.

Two contenders in the race for the party chairmanship, Hendro
S. Subroto and Subur Budiman, got three and one vote
respectively. Meanwhile, Hamad Ginting and Marwan Adam received
no votes.

Lukman's election virtually ended weeks of speculation that
the congress would turn chaotic like the recent one in Surabaya
in which the PDI central executive board intervened and chose its
own figure instead of the government-favored nominee.

In the new board of executives formed early yesterday by the
electoral board he controlled, Lukman chose Sahala Sinaga as his
secretary. Sinaga is known as one of his staunch supporters.

Members of the electoral board included the party's
chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Lukman appeared to be the strongest contender in the
chairmanship race with support coming particularly from the North
and Central Jakarta branches.

The East Jakarta branch was split between three candidates:
Alex, Lukman and Subur, while South Jakarta had two candidates,
Hendro and Alex.

Inside sources said that the anticipated potentially explosive
situation leading to deadlock in the conference failed to
materialize because the participants "were simply accommodative
and respectful of each other."

Recognize

Contenders in the chairmanship race have pledged that they
would duly recognize whomever the congress elected and would not
set up rival leadership boards.

Megawati's chairmanship is facing dissension in a number of
regions, including Aceh, North Sumatra and East Java in which the
party has split with the formation of rival boards, one pro-
Megawati and the other in opposition.

Some party members in the regions have openly opposed her
over-intervention in local party affairs, especially in the
election of a local chairman.

Lukman had earlier assured that he would make PDI an even
better alternative for youths, students and the poor.

He received support mainly from the party's cadres who
considered Alex's chairmanship a failure because it was filled by
"stage politicians," a reference to those who like jockeying for
positions but do little to develop the party.

Alex has also been widely blamed for letting PDI slip in
Jakarta during the 1992 election. The party's seats in the City
Council dropped from 14 out of 60 seats in 1987 to only 13 of the
expanded 75-strong council.

Alex was acquitted by the South Jakarta District Court last
year of the charge of ordering the beating of PDI supporters in
1992.

Alex, a wealthy businessman and avid car racer, is believed to
have close relations with the city government which, given the
reputation of the party, could either be a major asset or a
liability for a PDI leader.

Despite his waning popularity, Alex has said that he was not
deterred and insisted on running for a third five-year term of
office. (par)