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.