Golkar decides new role

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Golkar Party held a coordination meeting Tuesday evening to discuss its new political stance following the election of Vice President Jusuf Kalla as its chairman.

Tuesday's meeting was presided over by vice chairman Agung Laksono and attended by the party's chairpersons, Secretary- General Sumarsono and some of his deputies.

"Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla is expected to chair another consolidation meeting at the party headquarters on Thursday," said Priyo Budi Santoso, a Golkar deputy secretary-general Tuesday evening.

Kalla beat former Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung in a party election Sunday morning to lead the country's largest political organization for the next five years.

The election of Kalla effectively positioned Golkar as a ruling party, despite the fact that it supported the reelection of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri in the election runoff.

Priyo said the chairmanship handover from Akbar to Kalla would automatically bring changes to the party's political agendas.

He was apparently referring to Kalla's statement in his first speech as Golkar chairman that he would not sustain the so-called Nationhood Coalition.

Aside from Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), members of the Nationhood Coalition also include the Reform Star Party (PBR) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS).

Following Megawati's crushing defeat in the Sept. 20 runoff, the coalition had positioned itself as an opposition force in the House of Representatives (DPR).

"There are always changes in politics. That is normal," Priyo said.

Another Golkar leader, Burhanuddin Napitupulu, was upbeat that all Golkar legislators would follow any decision of their new party chairman.

He claimed that Golkar was a modern political party that its members would follow any decision made after fierce arguments among themselves.

Separately, Akbar suggested that Golkar keep its commitment to building a check and balance mechanism through by maintaining its membership in the Nationhood Coalition.

"There is no reason to dissolve the Nationhood Coalition as it is designed to empower the legislature," he told a press briefing here on Tuesday.

Also attending the briefing were Golkar legislators Ade Komaruddin, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, M. Akil Mochtar and Musfihin Dahlan.

Akbar said his accountability report, including the formation of the Nationhood Coalition, had been accepted by participants in the party congress in Bali.

Akbar used the press briefing to criticize the composition of Golkar's executive board, including the creation of the position of vice chairman.

"Principally I disagree with the position of vice chairman, which is clearly set up simply to give somebody a position in the party. I have been 40 years in Golkar and only now I see the presence of a vice chairman's post," Akbar said.