Golkar executive board condemned
Golkar executive board condemned
JAKARTA (JP): The Golkar board of patrons blasted its
executive board yesterday for being late in anticipating and
responding to calls for reform.
The meeting, chaired by President B.J. Habibie and attended by
the likes of former vice president Try Sutrisno, former defense
minister Edi Sudradjat and Minister/State Secretary Akbar
Tandjung, also reproached the executive board for failing to
react positively and imbue a sense of calm on the people
following the May riots.
"Golkar leaders have been slow to anticipate developments in
the progress of reform and late in taking necessary action to
comply with the spirit of the movement," Try Sutrisno, deputy
chairman the board, said.
"We (the board of patrons) can thus understand why Golkar's
regional chapters have asked for an extraordinary Congress, and
even why many of them have asked the executive board to resign,"
he said reading out the board's recommendations for next
Thursday's extraordinary Golkar congress.
Former president Soeharto, who is the Chief Patron of Golkar,
did not attend the meeting at the board's headquarters on Jl.
Teuku Umar in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
Soeharto was believed to have been represented in the meeting
by Try.
Among the 25 members who attended were Coordinating Minister
for Development Supervision and State Administrative Reform
Hartarto, former religious affairs minister Tarmizi Taher, former
coordinating minister for people's welfare Azwar Anas, and former
environment minister Sarwono Kusumaatmadja.
The gathering was held at Soeharto's request after he
canceled a meeting planned for last Monday between Golkar leaders
and representatives of the Armed Forces and the bureaucracy at
the last minute.
Soeharto's move shows that he is still calling the shots at
Golkar even after resigning from the presidency, and came amid
speculation that he is trying to make a political comeback
through the organization.
Golkar, the dominant political group for the last 32 years, is
scheduled to hold an extraordinary congress on Thursday to review
its position and possibly seek the ouster of executive chairman
Harmoko.
A statement made by Harmoko, in his capacity as Speaker of the
House of Representatives, calling for Soeharto to resign in May
was one of the crucial turning points which led to Soeharto's
resignation.
Try said last night that Golkar needs to first reform itself
and respond positively to the people's aspirations.
"The board of patrons, advisors and councilors, as well as the
three major Golkar groupings -- the Armed Forces, the bureaucracy
and the Representatives of Social and Religious Groups -- must be
reviewed and adjusted in a bid to comply with the aspirations of
the people and the coming future," he said reading from the
statement.
Meanwhile Sarwono denounced Golkar's executive board as
hypocrites.
"It was Golkar's executive board who renominated Pak Harto for
the presidency," he told journalists. "So why then was it them
who also asked him to step down?"
The secretary to the board of patrons Akbar Tandjung said it
would be the privilege of the extraordinary congress to respond
to the board's recommendations.
Asked about the board's possessive behavior toward the
executive board, Akbar said it was the natural consequence of the
board of patrons existence.
"That's the reason why the board should be abolished," he told
journalists at the end of the meeting. (imn)