Govt told to stay out of parties' affairs

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Government intervention in political parties' internal affairs, commonplace during the authoritarian New Order era, is making a comeback, analysts say.

They said on Saturday that the practice would disrupt the process of democratization and the new found freedoms that began to emerge following president Soeharto's fall in 1998.

Fachry Ali of the Institute for Studies and Indonesian Business Ethic Development said that intervention in political parties' internal affairs was one of Soeharto's most unpopular practices.

During Soeharto's 32 year rule, only three parties were permitted and they were strictly controlled by the president.

The latest debate over the state's intervention in political parties was sparked by reports that President Megawati Soekarnoputri had thrown her support behind one of the two rival leaders of the National Awakening Party (PKB), Matori Abdul Djalil.

Megawati, Matori claims, has agreed to open his national congress on Jan. 14 in Jakarta. But the President is yet to confirm or deny whether she will in fact do so.

"If Matori is right, then here comes the New Order tradition," Fachry told The Jakarta Post.

Indria Samego of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that politicians would never mature if they kept asking for the President's patronage.

The PKB, co-founded by Muslim cleric Abdurrahman Wahid, has split into two factions. Both Matori and the head of the rival faction, Alwi Shihab, claim to be the party's legitimate leader. Matori plans to lead a party congress from Jan. 14 to Jan. 16, while his rival intends doing the same, from Jan. 17 to 19 in Yogyakarta.

Matori was fired by the chief of the party's board of patrons, Abdurrahman, for disloyalty. He backed the impeachment of the then president Abdurrahman last year, which led to Megawati taking power.

As an apparent reward, Megawati, who is chief of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), appointed Matori as defense minister.

But Matori insists that he remains chairman of the PKB, which won the fourth-highest number of seats at the last general election.

"It will set a dangerous precedent if Megawati takes up Matori's offer to open his party's congress. Other factions of parties hit by internal bickering may do the same thing," Indria told the Post.

Megawati could face accusations of exploiting the internal rift in the PKB for her own interests if she supported Matori's bid for party leadership, as a weakened PKB could strengthen the position of other parties.

Fachry theorized that Megawati felt she owed something to Matori for supporting her presidential campaign in 1999. "Megawati can't forget it."

Another party hit by internal conflict is the United Development Party (PPP), the third largest party in the House of Representatives. Younger party cadres led by Muslim preacher Zainuddin M.Z. plan to declare a new party labeled PPP Reformasi.