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.