Golkar Party congress to see 'sharks' fight for control

Kornelius Purba and M. Taufiqurrahman, Nusa Dua/Bali

This week's Golkar Party congress will feature rich, deceptive and powerful people bidding to win the chairmanship of the party, which controls the most seats in the House of Representatives.

One participant, a legislator representing a region in eastern Indonesia, described the congress, which officially opens on Thursday, as a gathering of hungry "sharks".

"All of the participants at this congress are sharks. Because there are no fish there, the sharks will eat each other to survive," the legislator said on Wednesday.

Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, former Golkar secretary-general and now a member of the Regional Representatives Council, is more blunt, saying money and power will determine the party's next leader.

"The next chairman will be the person who is able to offer the highest bid in terms of money and power," Sarwono said last week about the party that was established by Soeharto three years after he formally replaced Sukarno as president in 1968.

Who are the candidates? Current Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, House Speaker Agung Laksono, former Indonesian Military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto and legislator Marwah Daud have all officially announced their candidacies.

Among them, who can offer the most money and power? Marwah is the least likely bidder, while all of the others have deep pockets.

In terms of power, Kalla and Akbar would seem to have the strongest bids for the moment.

As Vice President, Kalla has the upper hand. Moreover, he has the full backing of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has a strong interest in seeing Kalla emerge as Golkar's leader.

Susilo badly needs a Golkar led by Kalla to build a stronger coalition in the House. The People's Coalition, the President's main source of support in the legislature, is a minority in the House.

Golkar is part of the opposition Nationhood Coalition in the House, together with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) led by Megawati Soekarnoputri and the National Awakening Party, which was co-founded by former president Abdurrahman Wahid.

According to sources, Kalla was initially reluctant to enter the race to lead Golkar. However, he was convinced by close aides that under current congress rules he was the only candidate with a chance to defeat Akbar.

Kalla said on Thursday he had the support of 28 of 33 provincial chapters, and was confident that he would win the election.

Is this true?

Under current congress regulations, only provincial chapters have voting rights to elect the party's leader. District chapters are excluded. This rule was initially meant to benefit Akbar.

Akbar seems equally confident that he will retain his grip on Golkar. Those close to Akbar have said that he has received strong assurances from most of the provincial chapters that they will vote for him.

Members of the Nationhood Coalition, especially the newly-rich PDI-P, do not want to see Akbar lose his position as Golkar's leader, or at least do not want Golkar led by Kalla.

Therefore, Akbar can expect all types of support from the PDI- P.

Akbar, who rose to the top of Golkar shortly after Soeharto's fall in May 1998, is seen by many inside Golkar as the party's savior, steering it away from public anger and saving it from being disbanded.

He was able to distance the party from Soeharto and rebrand it as an entirely different Golkar from the New Order era party. Akbar gave Golkar chapters at the provincial level the kind of autonomy they never enjoyed during the Soeharto era.

As a result of his leadership, the party received the second most number of votes in the 1999 general election after PDI-P.

After the election, Akbar was tried and convicted for corruption. Although, he was eventually acquitted by the Supreme Court, the damage had been done to his reputation.

Many observers thought Golkar would suffer as a result of Akbar's legal woes. But, again, he defied the odds and the party was the top vote-getter in the last legislative election, winning 21 percent of the vote.

Akbar also was lauded for introducing a national convention to select Golkar's presidential candidate. The convention produced a surprise, with Wiranto outmaneuvering Akbar to snag the nomination. Both provincial and district chapters were allowed to vote during the convention.

Learning from the experience, Akbar adjusted the rules for the party's congress so only provincial chapters would have the right to vote to elect the chairman.

Although Akbar might not have as deep pockets as some of the other possible Golkar leaders, he has proven to be an unsurpassed political animal.

And Wiranto? Akbar has succeeded in ensuring the congress' rules will benefit him, so unless Wiranto can change the rules to allow district chapters to vote, it is hard seeing Wiranto winning the election.

In terms of money, Wiranto has it. Many believe the Soeharto family still trusts Wiranto, who is a former Soeharto adjutant. This would mean unlimited financial support for Wiranto.

Another candidate is Marwah Daud, a fierce critic of Akbar who claims she has the support of several provincial chapters.

Her power base is South Sulawesi and eastern Indonesia, which is where Kalla also draws much of his support. Marwah could be an alternative candidate, but there are no indications she will pose a serious threat for the other candidates.

Considering the factors of money and power, the most likely next leader of Golkar is Akbar or Kalla. Whoever wins the election, one thing is almost certain: regional chapter leaders will be richer after the congress.