Minister Mahfud says Golkar party dissolution unfair

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense Mahfud MD said on Friday demands for the dissolution of the former ruling party Golkar were unfair because Golkar was not the only party that violated election laws in 1999.

"The Golkar Party was not the only party that violated the political party law during the 1999 general election. I believe that all political parties committed offenses," Mahfud said during a media conference.

He said Golkar's second-place finish behind the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle in the elections reflected the people's trust in the party.

"Only the people can dissolve Golkar by not voting for it in the next elections in 2004," Mahfud said.

The minister held the media conference to discuss a request for him to testify in a lawsuit lodged by a group of non- governmental organizations against Golkar for allegedly accepting donations which exceeded the legal limit.

Article 14 of Law No. 2/1999 on political parties stipulates that a political party is not allowed to receive personal donations exceeding Rp 15 million, or donations from private companies, legal bodies or organizations in excess of Rp 150 million. If found guilty, the Supreme Court could suspend or dissolve Golkar.

The lawyer for the plaintiffs, R.O. Tambunan, has asked Mahfud and Minister of Finance Rizal Ramli to testify before the Supreme Court. Testimony is also expected to be heard from former State Logistics Agency (Bulog) chief Rahardi Ramelan, former Supreme Advisory Council chief and Golkar Party functionary A.A. Baramuli and the director of public accountancy firm Pricewaterhouse Cooper, Hariyanto Sahari.

Mahfud said he objected to testifying before the court, but was prepared to submit a written statement.

"I heard the rumor about Golkar's faults from Rizal Ramli, who was the then Bulog chief and coordinating minister for the economy, during a Cabinet meeting on Feb. 21," Mahfud said.

Quoting Rizal, Mahfud said Golkar had illegally received Rp 90 billion (US$9 million) in donations from Bulog during the 1999 general election. (02)