Golkar targets UMNO success

JAKARTA (JP): The ruling political group Golkar wants a landslide victory in the 1997 general election and chairman Harmoko is confident he can do it.

"We cannot predict the percentage (of the votes) yet, but it is sure to increase given the organizational consolidation being carried out in the regions," Harmoko told Antara yesterday.

Harmoko said any big political organization anywhere in the world wants to win with as big a margin as possible. He cited as an example the 86 percent victory notched by UMNO, the ruling coalition in Malaysia, in last April's Malaysian general election.

Golkar has won all the five general elections held under President Soeharto since 1971. However, in the last election in 1992, its majority was sliced from 73 percent of the votes to 68 percent.

The United Development Party took 17 percent and the Indonesian Democratic Party 15 percent.

Harmoko has been stomping across the nation meeting with local Golkar leaders since he was appointed to the number one post in October 1993. This week's sally has taken him to various cities in the Maluku and Irian Jaya provinces.

Speaking in Ambon, the capital of Maluku, the Golkar chairman told Antara that he was optimistic about Golkar's chances in the 1997 election because Golkar cadres in the region fully supported his objective to win with the biggest margin.

"At the very least, a bigger percentage than the last election," he said.

Harmoko was widely criticized when, immediately after his appointment as Golkar chairman, he pronounced winning the 1997 election with the biggest margin possible his main objective.

Critics feared that this would create a further imbalance in the country's political equation, an unhealthy sign for democracy, and render the two minority parties even weaker.

Besides touring the provinces, Harmoko has also organized crash courses to groom people in various professions -- from fishermen to film artists -- to become Golkar cadres. (emb)