Nurcholish exit a severe blow for Golkar

Nurcholish exit a severe blow for Golkar

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Golkar party's popularity has been at stake following the
withdrawal of noted Muslim intellectual Nurcholish Madjid,
popularly known as Cak Nur, from the party's presidential race,
say political observers.

Political observer and senior researcher at the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) J. Kristiadi told The
Jakarta Post here on Thursday that Nurcholish's decision to quit
Golkar for his presidential bid was a big loss for the party,
which has been struggling to restore its tainted image since
1998.

"To the public, it (Nurcholish's withdrawal) is a confirmation
that the convention was merely a ploy," he said.

Nurcholish announced his decision on Wednesday a few hours
after Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung had his aides pick up a
registration form for the party convention, a move that indicated
he intended to contend the first-ever direct presidential
election next year.

Golkar is scheduled to hold its convention in February to
select its presidential candidate. A number of party figures,
including Akbar, have registered for the convention.

"Faced with Nurcholish's withdrawal, Golkar has lost its
chance to repair its badly tarnished public image," said Arbi
Sanit of the University of Indonesia.

Kristiadi appreciated Nurcholish's move as being the correct
one to make. "If he had not withdrawn immediately from the
convention, he would have been cut out (of the running) by Golkar
as part of its political trickery," he said.

Kristiadi said that Akbar's participation in the convention
was proof that Golkar had merely used Nurcholish to try and
improve its tainted image, and Golkar was not sincere in
supporting Nurcholish.

He said that it was impossible for Nurcholish to win the
presidential race, as Akbar was supported by the majority of
Golkar chapters.

Golkar has a reputation of being the political bandwagon of
former president Soeharto's 32-year authoritarian and corrupt New
Order regime.

"Nurcholish should have known from the beginning that it is
impossible for Golkar and Akbar, who has been building the party
for years, to render power to outsiders who will fight for
outsiders (if the party wins the elections)," said Kristiadi.

Akbar claimed that Nurcholish's withdrawal from Golkar's
presidential bid would not affect the convention, as it had been
organized to run transparently and fairly.

"Everybody is free to join the convention," he said, adding,
however, that he regretted Cak Nur's departure.

Many Golkar figures have frequently called on the party not to
support Akbar's presidential aspirations, for the sake of the
party.

Akbar has been sentenced three years' imprisonment for his
involvement in a Rp 40 billion graft case. He is free pending a
Supreme Court decision on his second appeal; his first appeal to
the High Court was turned down.

Although the Presidential Election Law permits those with a
maximum five-year sentence to run, the verdict is actually a
political hindrance for Akbar's presidential bid.

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, founder and
chairman of the board of the National Awakening Party (PKB),
praised Nurcholish's move, saying that the scholar had maintained
his role as "the moral guru of the nation."

"Nurcholish has taught us how to play high politics, while
still maintaining credibility and morality in building our
democracy," said Gus Dur.

Nurcholish said that despite his decision, he was still
considering the presidency through other political parties.

He said several political figures and at least five political
parties had expressed their interest in supporting him for the
presidency.

Political observer Indria Samego suggested Nurcholish pick
reformist parties as his political vehicle, such as the Ryaas
Rasyid-led Democratic Nationalist Party (PDK) or the Sjahrir-led
New Indonesia Alliance Party (PIB).

"Choosing one of the reformist parties will improve Cak Nur's
popularity among the people," he said.