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.