Golkar, PDI-P prepare war chest for Mega's bid
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have prepared no less than Rp 40 billion (US$4.4 million) to support President Megawati Soekarnoputri's bid to win the Sept. 20 runoff.
The announcement followed Thursday's declaration of a coalition involving Golkar, the PDI-P and two other parties -- the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) -- which is not just aimed at throwing support behind Megawati, but at forming a political bloc in the next House of Representatives,
Golkar said it had allocated about the same amount it spent on the campaign for its presidential candidate Wiranto and his running mate Solahuddin Wahid in the first round in July, which amounted to Rp 25 billion.
"We will use the money to familiarize our supporters in the grass roots with the coalition," Golkar Party executive Slamet Effendy Yusuf told The Jakarta Post on Saturday. He said party leader Akbar Tandjung would be involved in the program.
The PDI-P, meanwhile, has provided some Rp 18 billion, according to Mega Center secretary Heri Akhmadi.
He said the funds were leftover budget from the July 5 election.
"We have calculated that for the three-day campaign period we will only need around Rp 2 billion or Rp 3 billion, and the rest will be used to fund preparations for the campaign in the coming month," Heri said.
He said it would be unlikely for PDI-P to hold mass rallies during the short period of official campaigning.
"Most of the money will be used to disseminate the programs of the Megawati-Hasyim ticket," said Heri, who is a PDI-P legislator.
Slamet said Akbar had begun a nationwide tour, to meet with leaders and members of the party's chapters to explain Golkar's policy regarding the runoff.
"The difference is (compared with the July election), we are making full use of the party's political machine, and we have coordinated our chapters, right down to subdistrict level, to support the coalition," Slamet asserted.
In the coming week, Akbar is slated to visit Banten, East Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta and West Kalimantan. After a few days rest, he will fly to other provinces.
"We only have a very short time, around one month, to familiarize our supporters with the coalition, and to make them understand that the coalition is not just for Golkar, but for the good of the country," Slamet, who headed the campaign team for Wiranto-Solahuddin, said.
He underlined that Golkar was not campaigning for Megawati, but the coalition, which he said was aimed at boosting civil society and strengthening democracy.
Analysts blamed Golkar's lackluster support for Wiranto's failure to qualify for the runoff.
A source told the Post that weeks before the declaration of the coalition on Thursday, Golkar and the PDI-P had discussed details of the division of labor ahead of the runoff. He said the two parties would be responsible for financing the campaign for Megawati in their respective strongholds.
The parties have also prepared watchers, who will be assigned to over 500,000 polling stations. The PPP and the PDS will assist the campaign in accordance with their abilities, the source said.