Golkar targets UMNO success

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)