Golkar told to ensure fair convention

Golkar told to ensure fair convention

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A Golkar Party executive has called on the organizing committee
of the party's convention and all six presidential candidates to
maintain fairness in the next stage of the selection process of
the party's presidential candidate.

Marwah Daud Ibrahim, one of Golkar's deputy chairpersons, said
those involved in the process needed to sign an agreement,
otherwise the convention would benefit party chairman Akbar
Tandjung, who had just been acquitted from graft charges.

"Without the contract or agreement, the convention will run in
favor of Akbar Tandjung. As party chairman, he can change
internal rules or policies for his own benefit," she told the
press at the House of Representatives here on Wednesday.

Akbar, former military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, former chief
of Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Lt. Gen. (ret)
Prabowo Subianto, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare
Jusuf Kalla, businessman Aburizal Bakrie, and media magnate Surya
Paloh are all among the Golkar nominees for the presidency. The
other contender, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X withdrew following
Akbar's acquittal by the Supreme Court.

Whoever the Golkar presidential candidate will be, he or she
will pose a serious challenge to incumbent Megawati
Soekarnoputri, who has been nominated by the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) as its sole candidate in the
July 5 election.

Golkar will hold its national convention after the general
election on April 5.

Marwah said as party chairman Akbar could, for example, call
for a leadership meeting to annul the final result of the
convention.

"If the convention is unfair, the other candidates will not
campaign for Golkar," she added.

Separately, convention deputy secretary Rully Chairul Azwar
said the convention's rules of the game were clear and
transparent.

"We, the committee members, are not allowed to change them.
Additional rulings are not necessary either," he told The Jakarta
Post.

Rully said Golkar had discussed the regulation long before the
Supreme Court acquitted Akbar from corruption charges on Feb. 12.

He played down the need for the signing of an agreement
between people involved in the convention.

"We should not blow up such suspicions," he said.

Any agreement signed by the people involved in the convention
has no legal consequences and is subject to annulment by the
party's leadership, according to Rully.

In a related development, Akbar Tandjung said his party had
been improving "communication" with Megawati's PDI-P for a
possible alliance.

Akbar said, however, the communication between Golkar and PDI-
P leaders was informal. "On some occasions, I talked to Ibu
Megawati. But, we did not discuss detailed matters," he said.

According to Akbar, there are some similarities between Golkar
and PDI-P, especially in their platforms.

Akbar said a coalition would only be possible if the parties
shared common ideas on certain issues, for example, on how to
help the country recover.

He added that such a coalition could only brought to the
negotiating table after the results of the general election were
announced.