Party fights to erase hoodlum image

Party fights to erase hoodlum image

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An air of officialdom subdued me as I arrived at the office of
Pancasila Patriots' Party in southern Jakarta as a man in a
military-style uniform awkwardly greeted me and asked me to wait
in the lobby.

"There's a reporter who would like to interview you, Pak," the
man said on the intercom. He came back to find out my name before
saying with smile: "He asks you to wait for a while."

The room was part of a building that used to be the office of
youth leader Japto Soelistio Soerjosoemarno -- now the party
leader. A pile of political pamphlets sat in the corner of the
room. Several people, some with long hair, sat idly.

Several minutes later a man's voice was audible on the
intercom asking the guard to let me in.

I walked upstairs, as the lift was off, to the third floor.
The guard led me into a packed meeting room.

The party's head of communication and information, Geaffary SI
Tasrif, known as N'dol, introduced me to other party leaders.

They looked occupied, preparing for the party's first round of
outdoor campaigning on March 31.

Some of them could be heard mentioning millions of rupiah,
while others discussed materials and logistics, party T-shirts,
vests and the transportation of supporters to campaign sites.

"Have you ordered the minibus?

"How much does it cost?"

A woman chimed in: "Hey, how much money do you have now? Can
you give him Rp 7 million?"

A fundraiser said: "Oh, good then... so we will receive a
transfer of fresh cash of Rp 50 million this evening... good..."

N'dol explained: "This is how our party deals with such
matters. Money has never been a problem for us because we are all
ready to pay our bills from our own pockets." However, he refused
to disclose the amount of funds used in the campaign.

The party was founded on June 1, 2001 with a declaration that
it cut its relationship with the Golkar Party despite its close
links with former president Soeharto's 32-year New Order regime.

Japto is also known as the leader of Pemuda Pancasila
(Pancasila Youth), members of which who were once considered
Golkar's hitmen.

Almost all of Pancasila Patriots' Party members are Pemuda
Pancasila supporters and the party's secretary general Sophar
Maru Hutagalung admitted the public might still perceive it as a
group of hoodlums.

"I know what people think about our party because of our past
image. Many also see in our leader what they want to see ... Time
will prove these perceptions false," Sophar said on the phone
over the weekend.

"Such a negative image is difficult to erase even though the
organization was established with many goals, including providing
job opportunities for youths," Sophar said, citing one of Pemuda
Pancasila's companies, which operates the Perisai Bangsa cabs.

During the Soeharto years, Pemuda Pancasila members were ever
ready to mobilize support for Golkar and guard any of its public
events. It was also believed to have established a close
relationship with the military.

Agus Syaifullah, a member of Pemuda Pancasila who joined the
group in 1984, said he underwent paramilitary training led by
Marine and Army officers at a military camp in Rindam, East
Jakarta. "But since then, I've learned to be a good man," said
Agus, a father of one.

He dismissed accusations Pemuda Pancasila was behind violent
incidents against other party's constituents or business
competitors in the past, saying "(these acts) might be done by
certain members of our group, but they certainly had no clear
instructions from our boss."