Golkar flexes muscles to save convicted chair

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.