Democrats need to stay clean

Democrats need to stay clean

From Republika

The vote gained by the Democratic Party (PD) in the 2004 general election was quite phenomenal, but regrettably this remarkable achievement has been tarnished by some representatives of the Democrats on the Jakarta City Council.

They betrayed the agreement between local boards of their own party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) during the election of the council speaker.

While Democratic Party chairman Subur Budhisantoso said that two of his members were involved in money politics during the election of the council speaker, it is also necessary that other measures be taken to restore confidence in the Democrats.

The members involved should not only be recalled and dismissed, but also be subjected to sanctions so as not to set a bad precedent for the party's future development.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the co-founder of the Democratic Party, should thoroughly deal with this issue as it represents the first test case for him in connection with his pledge to stamp out corruption. Otherwise, the continuity and sustainability of his position as president will be at stake not only in the 2009 presidential election, but also during the course of the present 2004-2009 term, and the Democratic Party could go the same way as the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

KURNIA WAHYUDI Jakarta