Golkar flexes muscles to save convicted chair
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Facing mounting pressure for its chairman, Akbar Tandjung, to relinquish his position as House of Representatives speaker, the Golkar Party has flexed its muscles and all but promised a back- alley dogfight to save Akbar.
Golkar, as the second largest faction in the House and former ruling party for 32 years under former president Soeharto, has the means to offer either lucrative compromises or outright threats.
Plan A for Golkar would be to offer compromises to other factions at the House, moves that analysts say could mean some serious horse-trading ahead.
"We will sit and talk this over with other factions," Golkar deputy chairman Fahmi Idris told The Jakarta Post on Saturday in response to legislators' screams for Akbar's ouster. "Yes, we'll be doing some lobbying."
Earlier, Fahmi warned that efforts to remove Akbar from his seat as House speaker could "undermine political stability" in the country.
The veiled threat was echoed by Golkar executive Rambe Kamarulzaman, also the secretary of the party's House faction, who said that efforts to unseat Akbar would lead to "uncertainties".
Akbar was found guilty of corruption and given a 3-year sentence -- he is free, pending appeal -- for embezzling Rp 40 billion (about US$4.5 million) of state funds earmarked for the poor. Now he is trying to avoid resignation or suspension.
"Suspension is not an option," said Fahmi, emphasizing Golkar's resolve to support Akbar.
Following Akbar's conviction on Wednesday, legislators stepped up pressure against the House speaker. Calls for a council of ethics to judge him are mounting. The Reform faction even demanded Akbar resign this week or else be fired.
However, no single faction seems to have the courage to initiate a formal effort to force Akbar out. Everyone seems to be calculating the profit and loss of initiating such a move.
Legislators at the largest faction, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, are once again wavering on a key national issue.
PDI Perjuangan member Didi Supriyanto admitted the faction lacked a coherent strategy should Golkar approach them.
"Our position is split. As the biggest faction we should take the lead instead of following what others say," he told the Post.
On Friday the party held a meeting which ended without a clear stance, other than letting members decide on their own what to do with Akbar.
Its faction chairman Roy B.B. Janis has said it would not ban members from making their own decisions or negotiations with Golkar, but added they could support calls for a council of ethics.
Apparently not able to understand when everybody who is not Golkar say that it is an embarrassment to the nation, Rambe said demands for a convinced corruptor's resignation merely smacked of politics. However for the sake of "togetherness", Rambe warned factions not to back Golkar into a corner."
Golkar owes much to Akbar. A canny politician, he managed to spin the kinder, gentler Golkar image after it looked certain to go the way of its supreme benefactor, Soeharto, who stepped down in disgrace.
Within a year of Soeharto's much applauded tumble in 1998, Golkar secured an almost unfathomable second spot in the general election behind PDI Perjuangan.
Golkar's regional chapters vowed their support on Friday, further signaling that the party still sees his leadership crucial for the 2004 general election.
"Despite the (corruption) conviction... Akbar is still their unchallenged leader," said political analyst Bachtiar Effendi.
To secure support from other factions, he added, Golkar could offer lots of incentives for a compromise.
"In the coming months we might be seeing political manipulation that has nothing to do with solving our (economic) crisis or meeting the needs of the public," Bachtiar said.
Not only that, Golkar, which has 120 seats in the House, second only to PDI Perjuangan's 153 seats, will have enough firepower to backup any threat.
Many also believe that with its strong foothold in the bureaucracy and stronger links to the military, the party remains very powerful indeed.
One of the more subtle strategies may be for Golkar to stall debates on crucial bills, hurting the government, which would reflect upon PDI Perjuangan, Bachtiar said.