Family feud brews in Lampung election

Oyos Saroso H.N, The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

There is a popular saying in Lampung politics: "No matter who is elected governor, Alzier is the real power in Lampung."

That is a reference to Alzier Dianis Thabranie, a longtime Lampung political power broker. In addition to being the head of the Golkar Party in Lampung, Alzier is known for his numerous supporters, earning him the nickname the "Godfather" from the Lampung media.

Most politicians, including Lampung Governor Sjachroedin Z.P, are familiar with Alzier's political maneuverings. For example, Alzier claims that he is the rightfully elected Lampung governor. And ahead of the Bandarlampung mayoral election on June 27, he pulled at least two surprise political maneuvers.

In May, Alzier announced that the Golkar Party was withdrawing the candidacy of Sjachrazad Z.P., the governor's brother, as a mayoral candidate. The announcement caused a big splash and rumors say the move followed an argument between Alzier and Governor Sjachroedin.

Alzier told The Jakarta Post he was upset by moves Governor Sjachroedin had taken over the last four months to change some officials in the Lampung provincial administration.

"The changes would have hurt Golkar because Golkar was working to help Sjachrazad win the Bandarlampung mayoral election," he said.

Then, in early June, Alzier placed a one-page ad in the Lampung Post daily, announcing he had won his appeal against the minister of home affairs at the Supreme Court, thus reinstating the results of Lampung's last gubernatorial election.

Alzier won the election on Dec. 30, 2002, but the results were canceled by then minister of home affairs Hari Sabarno, who ruled the election was legally flawed. Alzier was arrested after being on the run from several months for his alleged involvement in several criminal acts.

Alzier's ad was taken seriously by Sjachroedin, who refused to attend a dialog organized by the Lampung Post where he was to be the keynote speaker, accusing the daily of taking Alzier's side and attacking his policies. He has also reportedly instructed officials in the provincial administration and the Bandarlampung city administration to stop subscribing to the daily.

Politics in Lampung and Bandarlampung have long been dominated by two families -- the Thabranie Daud family, Alzier's father, who was Bandarlampung mayor from 1969 to 1976; and the Zainal Abidin Pagar Alam family, Sjachroedin's father, who was mayor of Bandarlampung from 1957 to 1963.

Thabranie is a native of Lampung and a leading figure in the Nahdlatul Ulama organization. Zainal was a military officer and native of Pagar Alam, South Sumatra.

The two families were brought together in a temporary alliance when Alzier married Syafariah Widianti, Sjachroedin's sister. In 2002, Sjachroedin backed Alzier in the gubernatorial election, helping him defeat former governor Oemarsono.

But the relationship turned sour when Sjachroedin, a retired commissioner general and former operational deputy at National Police Headquarters, supported the home minister's decision to cancel the results of the gubernatorial election and repeat the vote. In the repeat election, Sjachroedin defeated Oemarsono.

Ties between the two families soured further when Alzier divorced Syafariah and married a woman in her 20s, an employee at his village cooperative unit in Saburai Lampung.

Despite this, Alzier originally gave his support to Sjachrazad in the Bandarlampung mayoral election, even though his sister Hariyanti Syafrin was also a candidate. Hariyanti is backed by her husband, legislator Safrin Romas, and his party the National Awakening Party and several smaller parties.

One of Alzier's in-laws, Nuril Hakin, also is a candidate in the mayoral election from the Democratic Party.

Though clearly a major political player in Lampung, many people had trouble explaining how Alzier gained such prominence.

The Zainal Abidin Pagar Alam family, on the other hand, has made Lampung their stronghold. Apart from Sjachroedin, many family members hold prominent positions in society thanks to their wealth and social activities.

Sjachroedin is chairman of Lampung Sai, a political and cultural organization, as well as a member of the advisory board of the Lampung Customary Society Institute. Sjachrazad is known in Bandarlampung not only as the son of a former mayor, but also as a two-term city administration secretary.

Other prominent members of the Pagar Alam family include Indra Pagar Alam, a former leader of the Pancasila Youth group who passed away several months ago, and Nasir Pagar Alam, the owner of the Kartika Hotel in Bandarlampung.