JP/4/Akbar

JP/4/Akbar

Ridwan Max Sijabat
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Until his recent loss in the contest for the leadership of Golkar
party, Akbar Tandjung was considered among the strongest of
politicians in the country. Indeed, the man, who was born in a
small village in North Sumatra, had been active in politics since
youth and had an impressive track record throughout his decades-
long political career.

One of his greatest achievements was his ability to protect
Golkar against the threat of liquidation during the turbulent
reformasi era following the downfall of President Soeharto, the
founder of the party. If anything, under his leadership, the
party managed to transform itself as a "pro-reform" party and
came away the "winner" in the legislative election in 2004.

He is now retired from active politics.

Question: You look younger than your age and your waist is as
slim as actress Bella Saphira. How do you manage that?

Answer: I've become more relaxed and have more time to exercise
both at home and outside. I no longer have to attend official
ceremonies and meetings and I am no longer tied up by protocol
and guarded by adjutants. I am now as free as a bird flying
wherever I want to go.

After leaving the political stage a few months ago, I have
more time for fitness, to watch TV programs, pay informal visits
to my brothers and sisters and do many things I could not do in
the past. And, more importantly, my wife Krisnina Maharani and I
have more time now with our family, especially our four
daughters.

All these activities have helped me enjoy my lost life.

Do you do these activities as compensation after your
retirement from politics, or are you suffering from a post-power
syndrome?

I'm a realistic man ... It has been hectic and sometimes
depressing after spending so long on the political stage. I'm
seeking no more power or political jobs but silence and leisure
time after occupying numerous important positions in mass
organizations, Golkar, executive and legislative bodies over the
past 35 years of my political career. Now, I do want to enjoy the
rest of my life with my family.

Have you completely accepted your defeat in the Golkar
congress in April?

The issue is over, but I have made peace with myself to fully
accept the undemocratic results of the congress. I have my own
reasons to reject the result of the congress election and, later,
I decided to accept it for Golkar's good image and national
interest.

What I could not accept is not the election of Jusuf Kalla as
new leader of Golkar, but the way the election was held. The
party's internal rulings on the election were changed in
contravention to the party's statutes and he was personally
"attacked" by senior party members to unseat me from the party's
top post.

What are you doing now?

Like an investigative reporter who is nearing the end of
his/her investigation, I am detaching myself from the political
game where I conducted my daily activities in the past. All
things I obtained during the investigation in the field are laid
down on the table for further studies. The investigation
materials will be brought to a political laboratory at the newly
established Akbar Tandjung Institute to be analyzed and the
results will be publicized for everyone to see.

Besides (spending more time with) my family, I am now busy
with the institute and its operation and with my PhD program in
Yogyakarta.

What study are you conducting in the PhD program?

I am taking a PhD course in political science at Gadja Mada
University in Yogyakarta. So, I make regular trips there for
classes and consultations with my professors at the university.

Do you really need such a program at your age?

I just need another step to obtain the title after collecting
an abundance of political experience and practice in the field.
This program also helps me to operate the Akbar Tandjung
Institute.

Would you like to explain the institute's vision and mission,
please?

The Akbar Tandjung Institute has its main programs to organize
and design training programs for party members, freshman
legislators and councillors, as well as to conduct research
activities and publicize a quarterly Jurnal Politik.

Its curriculum and training schedules for the next two years
have been made available already and a number of short-term
training courses are underway. It will recruit instructors from
universities and relevant institutions to carry out the training
programs.

These activities will make you busy and you just said you want
to rest and enjoy the rest of your life with your family? Will
you comment please?

I could not completely stop working because I have been
accustomed to having a rigid daily schedule, but I think it is
necessary and important to run such activities to provide a
political education for the younger generation. I will continue
working for the sake of the nation.

You are a political figure from two different eras: New Order
era and Reform era. How did you survive the two eras?

It was a matter of self-adjustment. The New Order was a
product of the nation, and not that of a certain individual, in a
certain period of time and so is the reform era.

Everyone who was born and raised during the New Order era is
required to make a self-adjustment if he/she wants to survive the
reform era. As a nationalist, I comply with the law and I did not
commit any violations and I was proud of making friends with all
politicians from all parties. All the good things done during the
New Order era have to be maintained and all bad things, which
were no longer suitable with the reform era, were left behind.

We have proven to be able to make a successful adjustment

How did you revamp the Golkar Party, widely-known as the
political machine of the New Order regime, to survive the Reform
Era?

Following the downfall of former president Soeharto in May,
1998, and the loud calls for the liquidation of Golkar, the then-
political grouping initially known as Golongan Karya (Golkar),
held an extraordinary congress as it still had a wide network of
loyalists nationwide and real political supporters, especially in
several regions outside of Java.

At the congress, we decided to launch an internal reform
program, and so we changed the political grouping into a
political party as it was required by the political laws and
elected me as the new leader of Golkar Party until 2003. A number
of young and well-trained party members were recruited for the
executive board.

In a matter of months, Golkar under my leadership, was
prepared with a new political outlook - a new name, new statutes,
a new vision and a new platform to show it was reforming and it
ready to contend in the 1999 general election.

With the internal reform agenda, Golkar could no longer rely
on civil servants and military networks nationwide to maintain
its own power base and, we also had to be financially
independent.

The louder the calls for Golkar's liquidation, the stronger
and more united the party and its members were getting. This
proved true when Golkar was found more prepared than most for the
1999 general election, and despite the strong criticism and
political pressure for its disbandment, Golkar occupied the
second rank after the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI-P) in the elections and won the majority of seats in the
2004 legislative election.

Responding to the mounting demand for Golkar's liquidation
because of its bad reputation during the New Order era, former
president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid requested the Supreme Court
to issue a fatwa (edict) on the party's disbandment, but the
Court declined to do so after learning that the party had its
real supporters and it met all conditions required by the
political laws to maintain its existence.

Unlike most party supporters, who have been in hiding
following Soeharto's downfall, several senior figures and young
cadres were standing in the front row to face the pro-reform
movement.

How did you manage the internal reforms and make the
adjustment to the reform era?

It was very simple: We had to change our political behavior.
Golkar and its functionaries had to remain humble and bow down
their heads to earth when they were condemned, while they were
reforming themselves. This was a key factor that led Golkar to
regain the people's confidence.

Following the extraordinary congress and reform era, Golkar
has worked hard to show its strong commitment to the national
reform agenda and the development of a true democracy. With the
hard work, Golkar has harvested significant fruits in major
political events.

Despite the strong demand for Golkar's liquidation, the party
finished second after PDI-P in 1999 and won the 2004 legislative
election. I think that was an extraordinary performance.

It is very easy to cry for reforms, but it is very difficult
to implement them. Many non-governmental organizations, social
organizations and new political parties have cried for reforms,
but failed to implement. Golkar and its cadres have pushed for
reform in phases to repair its badly tarnished image and to
appear as a pro-reform party in the reform era.

Golkar has given its own contribution to make a number of laws
and establish pro-democracy institutions and agencies to
implement regional autonomy and special autonomy in Aceh and
Papua, the first-ever direct presidential elections and now
direct regional head elections. Golkar is the first-ever party to
conduct its own convention to nominate its presidential
candidate.

After salvaging Golkar to enter the reform era, how did you
save yourself from the Bulog-gate (corruption scandal involving
government commodity regulator Bulog)?

I didn't salvage myself. My luck is that the Supreme Court's
panel of justices (four of the five) were of the opinion that I
was not guilty in the case. The justices and many other people
were not sure I was guilty in the Rp 40-billion corruption
scandal.

But, if the Supreme Court upheld the district court's decision
(guilty verdict), I would have complied with the law to serve the
three-year jail sentence. And, thank God, the Supreme Court
accepted my appeal.

But, many sides have questioned the court's controversial
decision, saying you are more slippery than an eel. What is your
comment on that, please?

I don't say that everybody should accept the Supreme Court's
final decision and it is my right to gain a fair verdict from the
judiciary system.

Would you like to comment on the current situation, please?

Speaking frankly, I am proud of the current Indonesia with all
its good performance over the past seven years in the social,
political, economic, environmental and security fields. A true
democracy is growing nationwide with the implementation of the
regional autonomy and the direct regional head elections and
direct presidential elections.

But, we should bear in mind that the nation has paid a high
price to reach the current situation. A majority of the people
are still having trauma, like bloody riots, following Soeharto's
resignation, the bloody sectarian conflicts in Central and West
Kalimantan, Timor, West Nusa Tenggara, Poso and Ambon that
claimed thousands of innocent lives. Thousands of others have
been killed in the prolonged secession rebellions in Aceh and
Papua.

Despite the significant progress, Indonesia has been
challenged to counter security and terrorist threats and to fight
against rampant corruption.

The present government has to take concrete action to cope
with the security issue and the terrorist threats in efforts to
create a feeling of safety among the people and a good investment
climate to lure more foreign investors to invest in the country.
Besides, the government has to forge cooperation with all
interest groups to eliminate the corruption culture and to
uncover corruption cases so that justice can be upheld.

Who are your political idols?

I learned much from founding president Sukarno about
nationalism and pluralism, from Muhammad Hatta and Muhammad
Natsir about rational thinking and on how to be a good
politician. I learned much from former president Soeharto about
self-control, patience, decision-making processes and conflict
management.

Do you have something to share with young politicians?

Young politicians should play an active role in their own
political party, mass organizations and other related
institutions to win real support both from the party and its
supporters. Parties and mass organizations are training fields
for politicians to exercise their organizing capacity and to
gather political support from their supporters or constituents,
especially during the direct regional head and presidential
elections and district legislative polls, before they appear on
the national political stage.

Young politicians should read many books and learn from senior
politicians, well-known figures about their strength and
weaknesses how to fight for power as well as to serve the people.

To be a good politician, someone should not think only of
power and political jobs but first should undergo training
programs in the party and relevant mass organizations to improve
their skills in numerous related fields and continually develop
their political career.

Box

Akbar Tandjung's political career

Akbar was active in the Indonesian Muslim Student Association
(HMI) and the Indonesian Youth National Committee (KNPI), while
he was studying at the technological school of the University of
Indonesia. He was also active in the national movement (KAMMI-UI
and Laskar Ampera Arief Rachman Hakim), which was formed to
counter the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). He was elected as
leader of HMI in 1972 and leader of KNPI in 1978.

Golkar elected him as deputy to the secretary-general in 1983
and leader from 1988 throughout 2005.

During Soeharto's administration, he served as state minister
for sports and youth affairs from 1988 through 1993 and minister
of housing affairs for the next five years. He was appointed as
minister/state secretary in Habibie's Cabinet from 1998 through
1999 and House speaker from 1999 to 2004.