New PDI braces for last leg on long political journey

Frans Surdiasis, Research and Development Unit, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

This is the 24th and final article of a series on the 24 political parties contesting the 2004 elections.

Many people may have forgotten Soerjadi, the former chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). Under the leadership of the 65-year-old, experienced politician, the original PDI -- a result of the imposed fusion of some nationalist and Christian parties -- experienced some success.

In what was a stifling political system PDI somehow managed to portray itself and a number of its vocal politicians as the alternative for the young generation including rock fans, who dubbed it the partai metal.

But then Soerjadi, backed by a Soeharto government that was nervous of rising public support for Megawati Soekarnoputri, took a significant role in the breakup of PDI into two camps in 1996. They came to be known as the Megawati and Soerjadi camps.

Following the violent takeover, on July 27, 1996, of the PDI headquarters, which was occupied by Megawati's camp at the time, the masses at the party congress in Bali gave the party of her camp a new name, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

What followed was PDI's plunge. In the 1997 election it secured only 3.06 percent of the vote, the worst performance since its birth. In the 1999 election PDI won only 0.62 percent, or 345,720 votes, with two seats in the legislature.

The PDI-P, on the contrary, gained 35 million votes. PDI had to sign up to contest the 2004 elections under a new name -- the Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party (PPDI), set up with activists of other parties that did not pass the 1999 threshold, on Jan. 10 last year, the same date as PDI's birth in 1973.

The word "vanguard" (or penegak) in Partai Penegak Demokrasi Indonesia, says party leader Dimmy Haryanto, refers to the party's warning of how democracy in the country "has diverted from the true meaning of Indonesian democracy".

Dimmy, who with Soerjadi was a long-time activist of the earlier nationalist PNI party, claims a membership of 1 million people, but told Gatra magazine in January that if the party failed to pass the threshold of 3 percent of the vote, "we don't think we could face the 2009 elections".

The party's main hope lies in the disappointment of its former constituents at President Megawati and her party.

In an apparent bid to brush off the party's past image, Soerjadi, who was active in PNI's student affiliate GMNI, is absent from its executive list. The peak of the decline in his political career was when he was detained on charges of involvement in the 1996 takeover. Now he says, "that was so long ago ... I don't remember".

The party leaders hope others, too, will forget, due to the party's focus on the "people's" economy, legal certainty and eradication of corruption, a weak point in Megawati's government.

The party lacks leading figures, apart from funds, on its own admission. Soerjadi and Dimmy are among politicians of the past. Therefore the leaders have opted for a "quiet" campaign, relying on leaders of the local branches. Besides, "all legislative candidates will go to the villages," Dimmy told Koran Tempo in January.

The only possibility for the party to become associated with a currently popular figure lies in its nomination of Siswono Yudohusodo as presidential candidate. The former minister, property businessman and leader of the farmers' association, HKTI, has, however, been named a candidate by a few other parties.

The party also displays a simple, far-from-elaborate, party platform, with vision and mission statements similar to those of other parties. Apparently, it does not even bother to go into all that old marhaenisme ideology, toted by other parties that display the "nationalist" claim and ties to founding father Sukarno. Instead, its platform lists newer aspirations of the day such as gender equality and environmental "harmony", though this is also not unique compared with other parties.

In contrast to the current government, PPDI says it will work for "modern, capable governance that is honest, fair, responsible ... "

It also aims at the formation of a citizenry with "a strong Indonesian character that is honest, ethical, moral and democratic".

This is certainly a tall order for supporters of a party that has the logo of bull -- from whichever camp: They have displayed violence, even to the "little people" they claim to represent.

But then, as Soerjadi says, "that was so long ago."