Golkar seeks to become 'face of Indonesia' in international arena
Golkar seeks to become 'face of Indonesia' in international arena
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Golkar Party is seeking to become the "face of Indonesia"
when it comes to international politics, and wants to establish a
network with major international political parties, particularly
from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN).
As it wrapped up an international conference on Saturday, that
was attended by delegations from foreign parties who won their
respective elections, Golkar said it was striving to build its
image and learn from major parties to intensify its influence
over government policies.
Apart from Indonesia's Golkar, the one-day conference was
attended by delegations from election-winning parties from
Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Brunei
Darussalam, China, Japan and South Korea.
Themed Political Parties' Role for Prosperity and
Democratization in ASEAN Countries, the conference sought to work
out "second track diplomacy" to better strengthen and resolve
either bilateral or multilateral problems among countries in the
region.
"We want to become the face of Indonesia. (Golkar leader and
Vice President) Jusuf Kalla has always said that Golkar must
strive to become the first thing that comes to the minds of
foreigners when they think of Indonesian political parties," said
conference chairman Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita.
Agus, also Golkar's deputy chairman for foreign and defense
affairs, said one of the purposes of the conference was to raise
awareness about Indonesia's political and democratic rise and re-
establish the brotherhood among ASEAN countries.
"Golkar is prepared to host this conference again next year.
Such a forum is equally essential to provide alternating colors
to each government on how to resolve disputes between us," said
Agus.
Golkar, formerly the political machine of dictator Soeharto,
regained some of its past glory after winning the most votes in
last year's legislative election. It lost in the ensuing
presidential election to a coalition of minor parties that
nominated Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla.
Kalla took over Golkar's top job after winning the vice
presidential post, leading the party back to its old role as a
bedrock of political support for the government.
Golkar leader Kalla said in his address on Saturday the forum
would lead to a solid collaboration between the parties given
that any instability within a country in the region always
affected its neighbors.
"Thus, a network that has already been established will
definitely come in handy," he explained.
The conference itself, which resulted in an agreement called
the Jakarta Statement, revolved around issues of how parties
could play a larger role in creating a clean and credible
democracy amid collective concerns over poverty and backwardness.
Among the agreed points are a common commitment to ensure a
fair process of globalization that serves humankind in addressing
problems by empowering people, and that political parties should
actively participate in decision-making processes in government
by serving as agents in pursuing people's welfare.
Thus, the statement adds, the parties agreed to integrate into
their national agendas the development of strategies with
concrete actions for poverty alleviation as well as to ensure
that each government extends cooperation with respect to human
development.