Observers hail PPP-Megawati alliance

Observers hail PPP-Megawati alliance

JAKARTA (JP): Observers have given the thumbs up to the United
Development Party's (PPP) move to embrace Megawati Soekarnoputri
loyalists but warn it may backlash if not properly managed.

They said Wednesday in separate interviews that if the
alliance did materialize, it would be fragile because the two
camps had fundamentally different political agendas.

Contributing ideas were political observers Muhammad Hikam,
Daniel Dhakidae and Alexander Irwan.

At the center of the debate is the PPP's maneuver to
accommodate the many frustrated Megawati supporters who are
confused as to what party they should vote for in the May 29
election.

Megawati, elected Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) chief by a
popular vote in 1993, was ousted in a government-sanctioned rebel
congress last year. The government has barred her and her
supporters from running in this month's poll.

Hikam from the Institute of Indonesian Sciences said that if
PPP was serious in wanting to win over Megawati supporters to its
cause, the party should adjust its political agenda.

Although formally claiming to be an open party, PPP is
considered a Moslem party, while Megawati and her followers are
nationalist, he said.

If PPP failed to adjust its political agenda to bridge the
difference, Megawati loyalists may refuse to vote for it when
polling day comes, he said.

"I'm afraid Megawati loyalists are only enthusiastic about
joining the PPP campaign; that does not necessarily mean they
will vote for PPP," said Hikam.

Megawati, first president Sukarno's eldest daughter, has
called on her supporters to vote for any party they like.

Megawati loyalists generally prefer campaigning for PPP
instead of the dominant party Golkar. During PPP rallies, they
have chanted pro-Megawati and PPP slogans.

PPP Surakarta branch chief Mudrick Sangidoe met Megawati on
Tuesday. PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum, better known as
Buya, said Wednesday he was optimistic PPP's showing in the
coming election would be better if Megawati joined forces with
him.

Hikam said PPP accepting Megawati's loyalists, if it happened,
was only a piece of political pragmatism since both groups were
fundamentally different.

He said PPP might face government action and criticism from
members if it tried to ally with Megawati.

The party's leaders in Jakarta appeared more skeptical about
forging the coalition than its middle-level leaders in the
provinces, he said.

Daniel Dhakidae described the latest PPP move as "great",
saying the joining of rival political forces was the first
instance of its kind during the 30-year-old New Order government.

Coalitions between parties only happened in a parliamentary
democracy, he said.

Daniel said the phenomenon reflected an angry protest against
the whole political system created by the government, including
the general election organization and political laws.

He said PPP might face political risks if it accepted
Megawati's supporters. But the coalition would raise PPP's moral
stature in public and would help change its image as a closed
Islamic party.

"I think PPP should accept Megawati's loyalists," Daniel said,
even though the move would require a great deal of moral courage
on the part of the party's leaders.

"I think, based on his actions before and during the campaign,
Buya has such moral courage," Daniel said.

Alexander believed Megawati would not publicly declare her
support for PPP because it would taint her image as a PDI leader
and she would risk losing popularity by doing so.

PPP and Megawati were impossible to coalesce since they had
significantly different orientation and histories, he said.

"Also, how would they share power?" he asked. (jsk)