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."