Basofi's East Java gamble

Basofi's East Java gamble

At last the protracted conflict within the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) has proved fatal. East Java's Governor
Basofi Sudirman has left vacant the seats reserved for the party
in the provincial electoral committee which he installed last
Monday.

The PDI, under the leadership of Megawati, has never lacked
trouble, owing to internal rifts and factors put into play by
"the invisible hand". Megawati's leadership is faced with the
challenge of eliminating the seeds of discord. Simply relying on
the charisma of the Sukarno name is not enough. Megawati must
prove her mettle as an administrator and as a seasoned
politician. Without such competence she will always be rocked by
trouble.

On the other hand, it would be appropriate for the government
-- in this case Basofi Sudirman -- to use the legality approach
in handling the muddle within the PDI in East Java. This means
that Basofi should respect the party's decisions. A provincial
political patron cannot annul a party's decisions merely because
some people who lost a contest come to him with reports of
irregularities and form rival party boards.

If political patrons foster this attitude they will never be
successful in helping mature democracy in Indonesia. Our
politicians must accept defeat gallantly. There must be no more
"invisible hand" caressing politicians who form rival bodies
after being defeated.

In the case of the East Java chapter of PDI we hope Basofi
will stick to the legality principle. To prolong the discord will
be most detrimental to the government's authority as the
country's political patron.

It must be remembered that the political catastrophes which
have occurred in a number of countries materialized when the
people began to question the credibility of general elections.
And the credibility of the upcoming general election will indeed
be put at stake if PDI representatives are excluded from the
provincial electoral committee.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta