Dismissal of PDI-P reformers would backfire: Kwik

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.