Golkar's sins

Golkar's sins

Top functionaries of (the ruling party) Golkar assembled at
Lembang, near Bandung, on Saturday, said the current reform tide
had brought home to them the fact that they had not been doing
things right. Thus the resolve was born among them that Golkar
had to be totally reformed, and that it could no longer be a mere
political engine to provide legitimacy for those in power while
allowing itself to become alienated from the people due to
corruption, collusion and nepotism in all kinds of spheres.

This is the first admission of culpability coming from Golkar
since the organization was set up -- known initially as Sekber
Golkar in the 1960s. In its heyday, Golkar dominated the
Indonesian political scene without rival. This enabled it to
attain single majority status in every national and regional
legislature in the country -- a status which it has been able to
maintain up to the present, even when it is regarded to be in a
seriously impaired condition.

The "floating mass" concept has been one of the means employed
by Golkar to ensure an absolute victory in each and every general
election. While other sociopolitical organizations were
prohibited from operating at the lowest levels of the community,
civilian administrative and military officials on those levels
were without exception Golkar functionaries.

It is a common secret that every neighborhood community leader
was expected to meet a target of at least 10 Golkar votes during
elections. We also should not be surprised at the fact that
teachers or public servants could cast their votes twice -- once
at their workplace and a second time in their own respective
neighborhood. It is also no secret that in the past real victims
could fall in simulated election drills if a civil servant failed
to vote for Golkar. This led to discriminative practices in all
fields of public life. For three decades, not a single member of
another sociopolitical organization has occupied a government
post. A string of other examples could be mentioned of ways to
ensure a victory for the ruling party.

Golkar does indeed need to totally reform itself and abandon
its old manipulative and deceptive ways. It must have the courage
to admit its sins in order to keep itself from straying too far
from the ideas and the vision that initially led to its creation
if it is to continue to exist in the future.

-- Republika, Jakarta