Party leaders tell Megawati of waning support

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Regional leaders of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) told party leader Megawati Soekarnoputri on Tuesday that it would be difficult for the party to repeat its 1999 election success due to waning support in areas considered its strongholds.

Speaking at an ongoing national working meeting, the leaders said that internal conflicts had weakened the party, making it difficult to compete in the upcoming elections.

"Internal conflicts among party leaders and the trend among other parties to define us as their common enemy will reduce our chances of winning the elections," a party representative from West Kalimantan told The Jakarta Post on condition of anonymity.

Twenty-four parties will contest the April 5 general election. Only parties and coalitions of parties that garner 3 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) or 5 percent of the total 145.6 votes up for grabs will be eligible to contest the country's first presidential election on July 5.

A similar view was also voiced by a representative from West Java, who said he had problems attracting voters for the party due to conflicting policies among its leaders.

"We're having difficulty presenting the party's policies because there are many different views among leaders," he said.

According to him, the feelings were shared by many party leaders across the country.

Megawati, the incumbent president, chaired the two-day meeting convened to discuss various strategies to win the elections. All party leaders from across the country attended the meeting.

Wearing a red cheong sam, Megawati briefed party leaders for almost one hour.

Surveys by a number of research organizations and even by the party's now defunct research agency show that support for Megawati has dropped since she took over the presidency in July 2001.

Commenting on the concerns, PDI Perjuangan deputy chairman Roy B.B. Janis said such worries were common ahead of elections.

"Anxiety always rises ahead of every election, but we still believe that the number of people leaving the party equals those joining the party," Roy said.

He, however, admitted that it would be difficult for the party to draw support from the around 20 million new voters in the upcoming elections.

"Our conservative target is to maintain existing voters," Roy said. PDI-P won the 1999 elections, garnering 34 million of the around 118 million votes.

Asked about Megawati's message to party members for the elections, Roy said she had asked them to remain united and maintain a low profile.

"We were asked to remain united and strengthen cooperation among us, so we can be ready ahead of the elections," Roy said quoting the President.

In the meeting, the party also launched the www.pdi perjuangan.net website and set up legal advocacy offices to help party branch offices with legal problems.

The party could face a legal dispute with the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) for organizing street rallies that Panwaslu considered unlawful campaigning.

"The leader asked party members to keep a low profile and follow election regulations ahead of the campaign period that begins on March 11," Roy added.

Separately, a noted academic predicted that Indonesia would remain calm this year despite the general and presidential elections.

"Post-2004 (elections), the situation will remain stable," Arief Budiman, a staunch critic of former dictator Soeharto, told a seminar.

He said civil society had strengthened and it would be hard for Indonesians who had tasted "the bitterness" of the Soeharto era to accept a return to the old restrictive political practices.