Golkar is a powerless grouping: Observers

DEPOK, West Java (JP): Golkar, despite its majority, is a weak political grouping because it is controlled by the military and dictated by the president, political observer Arbi Sanit said yesterday.

Addressing a seminar on politics at University of Indonesia, Arbi said the political grouping is often unable to stand against "external pressures".

"It's a jumbo, a flabby political grouping. Golkar does not have the power to determine state policies because it's controlled by the military and the President," he said.

Legal expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra seconded Arbi's opinion, saying the bureaucracy dominates the political grouping which has achieved landslide victories in all of Indonesia's five general elections since 1971.

"Golkar is not the ruling party, it's the ruler's party. You can see that no Golkar chief has ever become a leading character here," he said.

He cited Malaysia and Singapore as countries with "authoritative" ruling parties whose leaders run their countries.

"Malaysia's UMNO and Singapore's PAP party chiefs are their country's heads of government. Here, a Golkar chief does not lead the government," he said.

"And Golkar has all the requirements and characters to be called an authoritative party," he said.

Golkar's current chief is Harmoko, the minister of information for three consecutive terms. He is the first Golkar chief without a military background.

Another speaker at the discussion on political parties' independence was former home minister Rudini who said there was no such thing as "political parties' independence".

"It's unreal, only a mirage. The existing political parties are so feeble they can't manage their own internal rifts. They're burdened by people's personal ambitions which has made them vulnerable to external pressures," he said.

Rudini, however, said the government was not necessarily to blame for "meddling in the parties' internal problems".

"Had the parties had strong management, they could have dealt with any external pressure. Nowadays, you can see that it's the parties themselves that are giving outsiders the chance to meddle," he said.

Under the 1975 law on politics, Indonesia recognizes only two political parties and one political grouping called Golongan Karya (Golkar). Only they can contest the general elections. Before this law was enacted Indonesia had numerous parties.

The two political parties are the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP) and the nationalist-Christian alliance the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). Both parties have been plagued by internal wrangling.

A number of government officials have said they were in a no- win situation. If they offered help, they were accused of meddling, but if they chose a hands-off position, the conflict could escalate and threaten national stability.

Golkar, since its inception and participation in the 1971 general election, has never declared itself a political party. (35)