Golkar to finish fourth due to Akbar factor: Fahmi

Golkar to finish fourth due to Akbar factor: Fahmi

Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

The former ruling Golkar Party will finish a history-low
fourth in the next general elections if convicted fraudster and
party chairman Akbar Tandjung continues to refuse to step aside,
a party deputy chairman said Friday.

Fahmi Idris, one of four leading Golkar senior executives who
considers Akbar a liability, said the convicted criminal would be
responsible for the party's showing in the 2004 elections if he
insisted on maintaining his position.

"I imagine if that (finishing fourth) happens, all Golkar
cadres will denounce Pak Akbar. They will protest and blame Pak
Akbar for the poor result," Fahmi said during a party function
here, which was also attended by Akbar.

Golkar finished second behind President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) in the last election in 1999 after winning the
majority vote in each of the previous six polls under long-time
president Soeharto.

Fahmi based his argument on several polls which predicted
Golkar would flop in the elections. Some of the surveys did not
even name Akbar one of the country's future leaders.

He said he had personally told Akbar of his position.

"I told him he could have a different opinion regarding the
current development. But I'm very concerned about Akbar's fate,
because as a chess player if we could perceive him, he has no
room to attack and at the same time possesses an ailing king,"
Fahmi said.

Fahmi, a businessman and a former minister under President
B.J. Habibie between 1998 and 1999, had once been known as
Akbar's loyal aide.

Fahmi has joined fellow deputy chairpersons Marwah Daud
Ibrahim, Theo Sambuaga and Agung Laksono in demanding Akbar be
barred from party affairs after the Central Jakarta Court jailed
him for three years for graft involving the State Logistics
Agency in 1999 when he was a minister/state secretary.

Many say the funds were used to help finance the Golkar
campaign for the 1999 general election.

Akbar is appealing the verdict, a move which has helped him
evade prison so far.

A campaign against Akbar is also underway at the House of
Representatives in which he holds the speaker's post. A group of
legislators, including some from Golkar, are presenting a motion
to dismiss him.

A Golkar legislator Ariady Achmad said senior legislators from
Golkar, including Fahmi, Agung and Sambuaga, were present at "two
or three" meetings aimed at soliciting support for the suspension
of Akbar.

A PDI Perjuangan legislator, Dwi Ria Latifa, who spearheads
the anti-Akbar motion at the House, said at least 15 Golkar
lawmakers had joined the move.

In response to the pressures, Akbar said he would not buckle,
claiming that he enjoyed considerable support from party
followers at the grassroots level.

He said he took the results of recent polls lightly, saying
they did not represent objective views.

"I have found the support for me from people in the regional
chapters remains strong," Akbar said on Monday.

Akbar expressed disappointment with a number of Golkar
legislators who had joined the motion to unseat him.

"I have always been open enough to them so far, why did they
not talk to me first? As speaker I welcome anyone who wants to
meet me," Akbar said.

Due to the mounting pressure on Akbar, Golkar has delayed its
executive meeting scheduled for this month to next January.