Cracks found in Golkar, PDI-P over election runoff

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta

Over 60 Golkar Party politicians and former and active members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have defied their leaders to pledge their support for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the presidential election runoff in September.

A Susilo strategist, Suko Sudarso, said on Tuesday the Golkar and PDI-P politicians were expected to meet on Thursday evening at the house of PDI-P legislator Arifin Panigoro in South Jakarta to further discuss plans to help Susilo win the runoff on Sept. 20.

"We hope that the support for Pak Bambang will shape up after the meeting, and the day after (the meeting) we will issue a joint statement expressing our political stance," Suko, a former PDI-P member, said after a meeting with Golkar politicians.

The preliminary meeting at the Regent Hotel on Tuesday was attended by Fahmi Idris, Marzuki Darusman, Priyo Budi Santoso, Andi Matalatta and Burhanuddin Napitupulu of Golkar, and PDI-P's Julius Usman.

Another PDI-P member, Sophan Sophiaan, will also come out in support of Susilo, according to Suko. Sophan stepped down from the House of Representatives in 2002 out of frustration with his faction's refusal to support a motion to form a special committee of inquiry into a graft case involving House Speaker and Golkar Party leader Akbar Tandjung.

This new development comes on the heels of intensified contacts between PDI-P presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri and Akbar. The two have met three times since the July 5 presidential election, which saw Megawati finish second behind Susilo.

Megawati will contest the runoff if the Constitutional Court dismisses a legal challenge filed by Golkar's presidential candidate Wiranto against the election result.

Golkar deputy chairman Fahmi said some of the party's leaders had opted to support Susilo because they believed he could bring reform to the country.

He accused Megawati of wasting the mandate the People's Consultative Assembly entrusted her with three years ago.

PDI-P member Julius shared Fahmi's view, saying Megawati had failed to put the reform agenda back on track during her time in office.

Fahmi also claimed the majority of Golkar executives at the party's provincial and regency chapters in Sulawesi, except North Sulawesi, Kalimantan, except West Kalimantan, and Java, except East Java, had voiced their support for Susilo and his running mate Jusuf Kalla, who is a member of Golkar.

The Susilo-Kalla pairing is running under the banner of the upstart Democratic Party. They finished first in the July 5 polls with 39,838,184 votes, ahead of Megawati and running mate Hasyim Muzadi with 31,569,104 votes.

Fahmi, however, expressed doubt whether the decision by the politicians to support Susilo would have any affect at the grassroots level, especially if Akbar formed a coalition with Megawati.

Another Golkar executive, Theo L. Sambuaga, said this development did not signal an internal rift within the party.

"Even though our party has yet to officially decide which presidential ticket we will support, I suggest it would be more strategic for us to vote for the Megawati-Hasyim pairing," Theo said.