Dismissal of PDI-P reformers would backfire: Kwik

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) decision to expel 12 members of a dissenting group opposed to Megawati Soekarnoputri's leadership is likely to deepen the party's internal conflict, says a respected party member.

The move will disrupt PDI-P's chances of winning upcoming direct elections of local executive heads and the 2009 general election, said former party think tank chief Kwik Kian Gie.

He argued that the people dismissed still had significant influence within the country's second biggest party.

"It will only deepen the conflict because they will not remain silent. They have financial resources and power," Kwik stated after meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday to discuss efforts to combat corruption.

On Tuesday, the PDI-P central board announced the dismissal of 12 dissenting members who had been urging reform within the party.

The expelled members are oil businessman Arifin Panigoro, former state minister of state enterprises Laksamana Sukardi, Sophan Sophiaan, Roy B.B. Janis, Didi Supriyanto, Postdam Hutasoit, Tjiandra Wijaya, Pieters Sutanto, Pius Lustrilanang, Angelina Pattiasina, Imam Mundjiat and Sukowaluyo Mintohardjo.

They have been expelled from the party for refusing to accept the results of the PDI-P congress in April in Bali, which unanimously reelected Megawati as party leader for the 2005-2010 period.

The reformers blamed Megawati for the party's defeat in last year's legislative and presidential elections and said she should not have been reelected.

Roy, who leads the reform-minded group, has claimed that his side is supported by many of the party's provincial chapters and regional branches that want the party's image restored ahead of the 2009 elections.

The group and a number of PDI-P chapters are fighting in court against the legitimacy of the party's recent congress that granted Megawati prerogatives that they say are against the party's statutes.

Such a condition, Kwik said, will cause tension within the party during the upcoming regional elections, which will start in June.

"If the conflict is not brought to an end, the party will face a worse condition," he warned.

Due to their dismissals, those expelled who serve as House of Representatives members will likely be recalled from the legislature by the party.

However, House Speaker Agung Laksono said on Wednesday he had not received a letter from the PDI-P recommending that its dismissed members be recalled from the legislature.

According to Kwik, many PDI-P members disagree with the central board's decision to expel the 12.

"They are forced to obey any decision by the central board because (their existence in the party) equates with their income. They are afraid of being dismissed from the party. They are anxious," he said.

They conveyed their grievances during the PDI-P national congress in Bali, said Kwik, who acknowledged that he was no longer involved with the party's business, nor had any contact with its top executives.

Kwik, who initiated the formation of a separate wing to campaign for internal reform within the party, also said he had stopped pushing for a leadership change because the party's central board still maintained members the "gang".

He was apparently referring to the three top members, namely Sucipto, Pramono Anung and Gunawan Wirosarojo, whom he blamed for PDI-P's defeat in the 2004 elections, instead of Megawati. Of the three, only Gunawan has been excluded from the current central board.