Mutiny in the ranks as Golkar, PPP fall for Mega's charms
Mutiny in the ranks as Golkar, PPP fall for Mega's charms
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Semarang
The leaders of the Golkar Party and Muslim-based United
Development Party (PPP) are now facing internal revolts by
members who oppose their decisions to back Megawati Soekarnoputri
in the election runoff in September.
Golkar, the PPP and the Christian-orientated Prosperous Peace
Party (PDS) agreed on Thursday to join forces with the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in supporting Megawati's bid
for a full term as president.
They also agreed to form a loose coalition in the House of
Representatives and local legislatures until 2009.
Dozens of PPP Jakarta branch leaders went to the party's
headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, on Friday to
protest against the coalition decision.
"We reject the coalition as it restricts the rights of the
party executives and members in making political decisions," said
Mulyadi, the secretary of the PPP's youth wing, Ka'bah Youth
Movement (GPK), after a meeting with the party's secretary-
general, Yunus Yosfiah.
Accompanied by dozens of party members from the Jakarta
branch, Mulyadi said that most PPP members in Jakarta supported
Megawati's rival Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate
Jusuf Kalla.
Yunus said the party would take action against those who
refused to accept the board's decision, but refused to say if the
protesters would be expelled from the party.
Leaders of Golkar's West Java branch, meanwhile, said on
Friday that they would stay neutral in the upcoming election,
stressing that the party's supporters would refuse to accept the
party decision.
"Our supporters cannot be told to vote in accordance with the
central executive board's decision. It will be up to each local
branch in West Java to decide on who to support," Golkar West
Java chairman H.A. Nurhaman was quoted by detik.com as saying.
Golkar's Central Java branch threatened to expel those who
refused to vote for Megawati or who showed support for the
Susilo-Kalla ticket.
"All chapters have to vote for the Megawati-Hasyim ticket as
decided by the party's national meeting. Those who support the
Susilo-Kalla camp will be expelled from the party," Golkar
Central Java deputy chairman Soejatno Pedro said on Friday.
Previously, Golkar's South Sulawesi and Papua branches had
expressed their support for Susilo, but they later agreed to toe
the party line.
Meanwhile, Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung denied suggestions on
Friday that the coalition was nothing more than an exercise in
horse trading with a view to securing seats in the Cabinet should
Megawati win, saying that it was instead aimed at creating an
effective government.
"We have the chance to discuss what kind of government we
could establish. Golkar will always be ready to contribute a
number of Cabinet ministers," Akbar said.
Separately, PDI-P deputy secretary Pramono Anung Wibowo said
the finance, state-owned enterprise, legislation and education
portfolios would be given to professionals rather than
politicians.
"The coalition has accepted this as a guideline for power-
sharing," he said.
On Friday, Megawati and former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur"
Wahid attended a Hindu Agni Hotra mass prayer meeting at the
Asram Gandhi Puri Swagram in Klungkung regency.
Meanwhile, Susilo continued his pressing-the-flesh tour by
attending Friday prayers at the Nurul Huda mosque in Cengkareng,
West Jakarta, while his running mate traveled to Semarang,
Central Java, to attend a National Committee of Indonesian Youth
(KNPI) national meeting.