Frans Surdiasis, Research and Development Unit,

Frans Surdiasis, Research and Development Unit,
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Three daughters of the country's founding father, Sukarno, have
now entered the political arena. The victory of Megawati
Soekarnoputri and her party in the 1999 elections, and subsequent
criticism of her presidency, has inspired her sisters to seek a
voice in politics. Megawati's youngest sister, Diah Mutiara
Sukmawati Soekarnoputri, now leads the Marhaenisme Indonesian
National Party (PNI Marhaenisme).

The party's name is an acknowledgement of its links with the
first president, whose charisma has not yet been matched. Its
logo of the bull also evokes memories of the original PNI co-
founded by Sukarno in 1927. Other parties, including those of the
sisters, claim to propagate the true marhaenism, which was based
on defending the poor and self reliance for the country, as
introduced by Sukarno.

Sukmawati -- who like her popular brother Guruh Soekarnoputra
is better known for her dancing skills -- began her political
career in 1999 when she joined the central board of the revived
PNI. The party was co-founded by Supeni, a prominent public
figure and a former ambassador to Indonesia.

Sukmawati insisted that the family agreement made in 1978,
when Sukarno's children agreed not to enter politics, no longer
applied. Indeed, her sisters also changed their minds.

In the 1999 elections, Sukmawati, a legislative candidate for
Surabaya municipality, East Java, failed to obtain a seat. After
the PNI failed to pass the electoral threshold, PNI Marhaenisme
was set up and declared to be a revival of the first PNI
established in 1927.

Although her elder sisters are more popular, Sukmawati has
long been passionate about her father's teachings. She was
involved in the People's Marhaen Movement (Gerakan Rakyat
Marhaen), an organization which aimed to popularize Sukarno's
teachings, and became its chairperson from 1991 to 1998.

In this capacity, she was once examined as a witness by the
Attorney General's Office in the case of Budiman Sudjatmiko, the
former leader of the Democratic People's Party (PRD) who was
accused of leaning toward Marxism.

Declared in May 2002, the party's target for 2004 is not yet
clear. Marhaenisme itself has become a "vote getter" for parties
as it has never had the chance to become an ideology in itself.
This is in part due to the official sanction of Pancasila as the
state's ideology under the rule of Soeharto, Sukarno's successor.
(Pancasila's conception is also attributed to Sukarno, but
Soeharto effectively banned any other interpretation than that
propagated by the New Order.)

Roeslan Abdulgani, a former ideologue of Sukarno and his
successor Soeharto, once said that none of Sukarno's children
showed a "true" understanding of his teachings. In 1999, none of
the parties using the old name of PNI and marhaenisme gained
significant votes.

Sukmawati's party relies on its populist agenda of championing
the little people, the marhaen. But it needs to strive much
harder, despite dissatisfaction with Megawati and her party among
the underprivileged.

Even so, Sukmawati may not appeal to "Sukarno loyalists"
looking for an alternative. She has a much lower profile than
those of her sister Rahmawati, and former Megawati-loyalist, Eros
Djarot, who leads another party based on Sukarno's teachings.

PNI Marhaenisme would likely seek votes in the traditional
strongholds of the PNI, including East Java, Central Java, Bali
and some provinces of Sumatra, such as Bengkulu and Lampung. PNI
Marhaenisme also claims that is enjoys wide support in Papua.
In 1999 the leader of the PNI party, Supeni, secured 377,137
votes nationwide. In Central Java Province, PNI took eighth
place. In Bali province it took sixth place.

Performing better in Bali than in other regions, the party
hopes that Sukmawati will secure it more votes in 2004. Sukarno's
mother was from Bali and parties using symbols associated with
Sukarno are popular there.

In East Java, the party is ready to compete for seats by
nominating Usep Ranawijaya, who was once a popular figure among
nationalists.

However, to target young voters, Sukmawati may have to work on
updating her campaign material.
The party has received one lucky sign, at the drawing of the
ballot numbers arranged by the General Election's Commission,
Sukmawati joyfully acquired number one.