PDI internal conflicts reflect political immaturity, Rudini says
PDI internal conflicts reflect political immaturity, Rudini says
SEMARANG (JP): Former home minister Rudini has dismissed the bickering in the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) as simply part of an education process underway within the party.
Rudini however said the in-fighting also reflected political immaturity and a lack of discipline within the country's smallest political organization.
The party members and leaders have only got as far as realizing their rights, but not their political obligations, the retired general said in an interview on Thursday.
"What they probably need is guidance," he said.
Rudini said the party needs to instill discipline, a critical element in a democracy and vital to any organization or country.
"If there is chaos in an organization, how do you expect them to run a nation? If you're not content with the current government, do you then establish a rival government?."
PDI was rocked once again this month when a group of its senior leaders announced the formation of a new executive board to challenge the legality of Megawati Soekarnoputri's leadership. At one time the rival board, headed by Jusuf Merukh, appeared to have recruited Alex Litaay, Megawati's secretary general, into its fold but Alex later denied that he had crossed over to the other side.
Rudini said PDI should strive to resolve its own problems without resorting to outside parties. The problem is inherent within the party, said the chairman of the Indonesian Institute for Strategic Research, a private think tank group.
"There is no reason to go around blaming other people. In any part of the world, an external power always exists and there is no use fussing about it," he said. "The question now is how can PDI confront the problem. It is too naive to simply put the blame on the government," he said.
The party's conflicts, he said, are a test case for PDI's leaders and will determine whether they are capable of keeping the party intact. "The problem is that PDI has not succeeded in determining its own identity."
The bickering is also weakening the PDI as other parties start looking to the 1997 general elections.
Rudini was more sympathetic towards Megawati and said that she had never been given a chance to lead properly since being elected in 1993. (har/pwn)