PDI-P cadres face penalties if they seek governorship

Yuli Trisuwarni and Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Bandung/Cirebon

A rift in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuagan) took its toll after one of its councillors in the West Java legislature proposed on Thursday that his colleagues be dismissed for running in the gubernatorial and deputy gubernatorial elections.

Head of the PDI Perjuangan faction at the provincial legislature, Rahardi Zakaria, announced his plan after receiving some 1,000 party supporters who rallied against three councillors who had registered themselves as candidates in the gubernatorial and deputy gubernatorial elections.

"Normally party cadres have to be loyal and take care of the party's interests," Rahardi said, hailing the protesters, who branded speaker of the council Eka Santosa and councillors Gatot Tjahjono and Lumi Darmawan "traitors".

Eka, who claims to have the support of several major organizations, will contest the gubernatorial election, while Gatot and Lumi are vying for the post of deputy governor.

PDI Perjuangan chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is also the President, has ordered all party members in the West Java legislature to support the nomination of Rudy Harsa Tanaya, head of the party chapter in the province, for deputy governor.

Megawati had earlier given the same order to Jakarta councillors to support the reelection of Lt. Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso as the governor of the capital city, despite his alleged involvement in the forcible takeover of PDI headquarters from Megawati's loyalists in 1996. The party's central executive board dismissed Tarmidi Soeharjo as chairman of the party's Jakarta chapter for ignoring the order.

PDI Perjuangan has also dismissed five Lampung councillors as party executives for supporting a gubernatorial candidate who was not approved by Megawati.

Rahardi said he would relay the party supporters' demand to Jakarta.

He denied allegations that the party chapter had paid the protesters.

"Their demonstration was spontaneous, it was not our work," he said.

The protesters, who came from Bandung and various towns across the province, flocked to the legislative building on Jl. Diponegoro.

"We demand that all members of the PDI Perjuangan faction take a united stand and vote for the candidate approved by the central executive board," shouted Anthoni, a party task force member from Cimahi, near Bandung.

Responding to the threat of dismissal, Eka, who chairs the election committee, said he was unmoved.

"Let them fire me. In this era of democracy, any opinion or wish must be respected," Eka said.

Eka and Gatot are among 41 candidates who have sent in their registration forms. With just one day remaining, there are 131 candidates who have not submitted their forms.

Separately, gubernatorial candidate Ade Suhidin said he was ready for police questioning on his multi-level agricultural business in Cirebon which had allegedly caused billions of rupiah in losses to investors last year.

The police liken Suhidin's company PT Adess Sumber Hidup Dinamika to the Sukabumi-based firm PT Qurnia Subur Alam Raya which collapsed last year. The director of the latter, Ramli Araby, is under police detention pending trial for fraud.