PDI congress still a tough forum for Megawati

PDI congress still a tough forum for Megawati

By Imanuddin

JAKARTA (JP): When Minister of Defense and Security/Armed
Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto finally said "yes" on Sept.
30 to whether the government would permit the Megawati
Soekarnoputri faction of the splintered Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) to hold their congress in Bali, many of her
supporters yelled "Yes!".

Wiranto's statement was, for many people, a victory of some
sorts for Megawati who has for more than two years been
struggling in vain to obtain government recognition for her
leadership.

It was especially gratifying because only days earlier
National Police chief Lt. Gen. Roesmanhadi said the police had
yet to receive a request from Megawati for a permit to hold the
congress.

That's because she did not make a request. She had earlier
expressed how she was fed up with the "legality" struggle and
vowed she would just go ahead with the gathering.

The government might look like it has lost -- especially
because President B.J. Habibie himself finally gave the nod to
the congress, albeit cloaked with a warning that the daughter of
the country's founding president would be responsible for
security and order during the congress on the tourist island.

In addition, it is clear even now that the three-day congress,
which opens on Thursday in the coastal subdistrict of Sanur, will
likely be a one-horse race for the ousted party leader.

Given how the regional chapters of her PDI have for the past
weeks been racing to express support for her bid for the
1998/2003 chairmanship, it looks like she has an easy road to
travel these coming days.

However, the agenda for the congress will not stop at the
chairmanship election, and a tougher read is ahead when Megawati
-- assuming she is elected -- will have to decide on who will sit
in the strategic positions on the party's executive board.

That's where the real competition, and Megawati's toughest
test, will be.

The recent developments in the party's internal affairs --
where many people, including retired generals, have raced to join
her party -- will surely create new problems for her.

Among the noted retired generals are former chief of the
Udayana Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. (ret) Theo Syafei
and Maj. Gen. (ret) Raja Kami Sembiring Meliala -- once an
outspoken legislator of the Armed Forces faction in the House of
Representatives. Rio Tambunan and Widjanarko Puspoyo have
abandoned Golkar and crossed over to Megawati's camp.

Last week, some 160 retired officers from the Navy's elite
Marine corps followed in the steps of their fellow Army officials
and joined Megawati's ship.

However, senior PDI member Abdul Madjid said all those
expressions of support should serve to remind Megawati that she
had to be careful in her selection of aides for the next five
years. The first road test is looming, namely the general
elections planned for next May.

Madjid, who was once an official of the Indonesian Nationalist
Party (one of the five political parties which merged into PDI in
January 1973), said Megawati must not be blinded by the new
members' big names.

"She must put the party's statutes above everything else, as
the basis for her selection," he said.

He suggested that Megawati consider an article in the party's
statutes, which stipulates career planning as one of the main
criteria for selecting the leader's close aides.

"Megawati should promote some of her long-term loyalists,"
Madjid said. "It'd be wise if those loyal supporters are given
positions on the party's executive board."

He conceded that even this consideration would still leave
Megawati a tough task, because she would be expected to
accommodate the various factions that make up her party.

He did not dismiss the possibility that strategic posts, like
the secretary-general and the chief treasurer, would be keenly
fought over.

"The secretary-generalship is the second most prestigious
position on the party's executive board," Madjid said.

He did not rule out the possibility that the newly recruited
PDI members would want to have one or two positions on the
executive board, including the post of secretary-general.

However, "only if he or she is an outstanding and widely
accepted individual might an outsider be elected as the party's
secretary-general."

Several names have circulated as strong candidates for the
secretary-general post to replace Alexander Litaay, including
deputy chairman Kwik Kian Gie and chief treasurer Laksamana
Sukardi.

Theo Syafei, however, is also considered to have the potential
to break with tradition and become a strong contender for the
post.

Laksamana still tops the list of potential chief treasurers.
But newly recruited businessman Meilono Suwondo has also been
mentioned as a possible candidate.

Madjid called on the newly recruited members to be patient and
to first establish their careers in the party. "They can still
become senior party executive after 2003," he said.