Little known Soetrisno elected to leads PAN

Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang

Businessman Soetrisno Bachir took over the National Mandate Party (PAN) leadership on Sunday from founding chairman Amien Rais, as the party seeks to modernize itself.

Birthday celebrant Soetrisno, Amien's preferred successor, won the mandate for 2005-2010 period after securing 745 of 1,410 votes (52.8 percent), outdoing closest rival Fuad Bawazier (551 votes).

Unlike Amien, people have hardly heard of Soetrisno despite his successful business ventures in shrimp farming, real estate and investment, under the Ika Muda Group and later Sabira Group.

People only remember Soetrisno, who was born on April 10, 1957, as one of PAN's main donors in the 2004 election, when the party ranked sixth in terms of votes. It secured 53 seats in the House of Representatives.

Soetrisno was quick to put the see-saw rivalry behind himself, saying he would involve all his contenders and senior members in the party central board.

"I will not place party seniors below me. They will act as party advisors," he said.

Soetrisno's ascendancy marks an era when the party plans to bank on a professional to head the party in line with modern organization principles.

"PAN has been led by a charismatic figure. The party members and central board relied much on him. As a modern party, PAN must now depend on a strong system under a collective leadership," he said before his election.

While congratulating Soetrisno, Fuad said he would not accept any offer for a position on the central board from Soetrisno.

Fuad, a finance minister under former dictator Soeharto, expressed disappointment with the election which he said was unfair.

"Soetrisno's triumph will bring trouble within the party. The election was problematic from the start," he said. He added some participants of the congress had been summoned and told to vote for Soetrisno by people in the party whom he refused to identify.

Fuad expressed concern that the Soetrisno-led PAN would come under the shadow of a certain group within the party.

The politician was apparently referring to Amien, who according to analyst Fachry Ali would maintain his stranglehold on the party despite his no longer being its leader.

"I guess Amien endorsed Soetrisno because Amien still wants to have a strong influence in the party. He doesn't want the party to be too independent, which means Soetrisno will continue to consult Amien in the future," he said.

Amien will continue serving as party advisor.

PAN, Fachry added, remains dependent on Amien, which was why the party members voted for Soetrisno.

Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa dropped his bid for chairmanship post and expressed his support for Soetrisno.

Hatta's resignation sparked protests from his supporters who had since Saturday encouraged him to stay in the race. A woman even cried and yelled into the microphone.

"I stepped down after discussing the matter with my supporters and colleagues. I decided that I would focus on my job in the Cabinet. We can serve anywhere, including in the Cabinet," Hatta said.

Soetrisno's election served as a consolation for Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim organization from which PAN derives much of its support.

"The success of Soetrisno is a half victory for Muhammadiyah, as it will depend much on the composition of the new central board and his position vis-a-vis us in the coming year," said Syafrudin Budiman, a leader of the Muhammadiyah Youth Force,

Soetrisno is a former Muhammadiyah treasurer.

A group of younger members of Muhammadiyah plan to form a party, citing disappointment with PAN.