Golkar joins calls for Akbar to quit post

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung has lost the moral authority to lead the House of Representatives (DPR) after the attorney general declared him a suspect in the latest financial scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), Golkar Deputy Chairman Marwah Daud said on Friday, upping the pressure for the beleaguered Golkar chairman to relinquish his post.

"Akbar must listen to his conscience and put national and party interests above his personal well-being," Marwah said in a hastily-organized media conference here on Friday.

She, however, rejected demands for the House to set up a committee to investigate Akbar's alleged corruption, saying, "Akbar must undergo the legal process instead of the political process".

"The establishment of a House special committee to investigate the involvement of Akbar in the corruption scandal may no longer be required as the legal process is now proceeding," Marwah said.

The attorney general declared Akbar a suspect on Monday in the Rp 54.6 billion financial scam.

Asked if Akbar had to give up his Golkar chairmanship, Marwah said that, "he should have resigned following his failure to promote (former president) B.J. Habibie as the country's president in the 1999 presidential election".

Meanwhile, political scientists are divided over whether or not the embattled Akbar still enjoyed strong support from within Golkar and other major political parties after he was declared a suspect in the graft scandal.

Satya Arinanto, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia, said he doubted whether Golkar's support for Akbar remained solid despite last week's pledge by leaders of the party's provincial branches to stand behind their chairman.

He said Akbar's opponents within Golkar were now figuring out the opportune moment to campaign openly for his removal from the party's top post.

"Originally they were going to sideline Akbar over the corruption case, but they also have a high interest in safeguarding Golkar, as an institution, from falling apart," Satya told The Jakarta Post.

Akbar's opponents within Golkar are grouped into two factions -- one led by Golkar chief advisor Arnold Baramuli and another by senior legislator Ginandjar Kartasasmita. They are believed to have been disappointed with Akbar's failure to support Habibie's presidential bid in 1999 and his inability to protect high- ranking Golkar leaders accused of corruption such as Ginandjar Kartasamita and the former industry and trade minister, Rahardi Ramelan. Satya said Akbar's enemies could snowball depending on the extent of opposition against him outside his party.

J. B. Kristiadi of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) concurred with Satya on Friday, saying that internal support for opposition against Akbar would aggravate existing pressure against Akbar from other political parties.

"Whether Golkar will continue to support or oppose Bang (brother) Akbar will be determined by where the wind is blowing. It depends on the strength of external opposition," he told the Post.

Another political observer Fachry Aly, however, said Golkar's loyalty for Akbar remains solid and that support for him will not lessen significantly as he already enjoys a "strong basis" in the regions.

Opposition has come solely from party leaders in South Sulawesi, said Fachri, adding that external pressure had also eased against the Golkar chairman after intensive lobbying by his colleagues of other major parties.

PDI Perjuangan would think twice before pressing ahead with its proposal for a political inquiry of Akbar's alleged role in the misuse of Bulog funds as it could, in turn, affect the performance of Megawati's administration, he said.

"The investigation into Akbar by the House could cause a domino effect on Megawati's government because it would increase political tensions, which would later disrupt her priority of economic recovery," Fachry said.

Fachry added that PDI Perjuangan seemed to prefer a legal approach undertaken to deal with the Akbar case rather than a political probe as the former could prevent the increase of possible tensions among members of the political elite.

In the meantime, PDI Perjuangan Secretary General Sutjipto said his party wanted the graft case against Akbar to be resolved through legal procedures.

He emphasized that a call by some legislators for a boycott if Akbar refused to relinquish his chairmanship in the House was personal opinion.

"We keep on discussing this issue and adjusting to the latest developments," he added.

Ali Maskur Musa of the National Awakening Party (PKB), meanwhile, said he fully understood the idea to boycott House meetings.

If Akbar remains in his post legislation passed by the House would be questionable. "We hope Akbar can appear responsive by relinquishing his post," he added.

Responding to such calls, Golkar legislators claimed that it would only be used as justification to avoid House meetings.

Yahya Zaini said the suspect status of Akbar must not be used to avoid the meeting. "The deliberation of bills and legislative hearings would be disturbed if legislators boycott the meeting," he said.

Sutjipto added his party had not reached a deal with the troubled Golkar Party although the party had sent a lobbying team.

He said his meeting with Golkar politicians was a friendly meeting with no significant agenda. "It was an informal meeting that produced no agreement," he told the media here on Friday.