'PDI-P congress did accommodate demand for reform'

'PDI-P congress did accommodate demand for reform'

On the heels of its defeats in the 2004 legislative and
presidential elections, the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI-P) has formed a new central board under the
leadership of Megawati Soekarnoputri, vowing to lure back and
reach out to voters ahead of the 2009 elections. The Jakarta
Post's M. Taufiqurrahman and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja talked at
length with the party's new secretary-general Pramono Anung
Wibowo about the party's future direction.

Question: What does the new lineup mean? It has people that have
been left in the cold in the past years such as former secretary
general Alexander Litaay and other people who joined the reform
drive such as Guruh Soekarnoputra.
Answer: The lineup is an indication that Mbak Mega (party
president Megawati Soekarnoputri) took into consideration the
plurality of PDI-P coverage of regions. The party consists of
four regions, Sumatra which is represented by people like Mangara
Siahaan, Agnetta Singadikane, Java and Bali which are represented
by people like myself, Soetjipto, Tjahjo Kumolo and Dewi Jaksa,
Kalimantan is represented by Emir Moeis and the eastern part of
Indonesia is represented by Sony Keraf, Litaay and Jacob Nuwa
Wea. However, she also took the people's capability into
consideration when selecting them.
Litaay had been banished from the party but now he has been taken
back into the party fold. Does this indicate that PDI-P is
embarking on a reconciliation drive after a much-publicized rift?

There was no rift during the congress. Clashing views between
two opposing groups is nothing unusual and it is part of
democracy, which has been developing within the party. The basic
concept that has been proposed by the so-called reform group is
good, maybe it is their way to express that which is unacceptable
and it gave rise to an opposition from participants in the
congress.

There is a prevailing sentiment within the PDI-P that a direct
challenge to Megawati will be met with grassroots opposition. The
reform drive, which was campaigned for while local party branches
held their convention to nominate candidates for the new party
leadership, received only a lukewarm response.

In the end the local branches still nominated Ibu Mega. Among
indications that the grassroots members still wanted Ibu Mega was
that her supporters were not well-organized, as opposed to
supporters of the reform group who seemed to be well-prepared. It
also showed that members of the party were also enthusiastic at
seeing PDI-P as an opposition force, this is like the rebirth of
our true spirit.

In the reform group, there are people like Laksamana Sukardi,
Sukowaluyo Mintohardjo, and Mochtar Buchori, people who have been
with the party for a long time and have contributed much to the
party. Will the new leadership embrace them or alienate them?

PDI-P is not a static party. However, there are a few things
that will be left unchanged: Pancasila as the national ideology,
its populist orientation and democracy and openness. They could
only be scrapped with the approval from four-fifths of our party
members, but this is very unlikely.

For those who stood against the Bali congress, those who see
the party from a different perspective, we will not shut them out
altogether. In fact, it is a positive contribution to the party
and the ideas were shared by some of the local branches during
the congress. But on the surface, the reform idea appeared to
focus on efforts to reduce the power of the party leader
(Megawati), whether or not she will still be granted with so much
authority and whether or not she has the sole right to handpick
members of the central board. The issue is just the sum of the
whole part.

What will be the future relations between the party
establishment and the reform group?

The shifting of alliance within the congress is very dynamic,
but it should not harm our relationship as party members who
share the same ideals. I am of the opinion that we should sit
together and find an amicable solution.

The party performed poorly in the 2004 elections and the slump
was blamed on the party's tarnished image. What measures will the
new board take to restore the party's image?

We are fully aware that the poor performance was the result of
our deteriorating image. After being marginalized for so long,
PDI-P changed overnight into a ruling party. This resulted in the
change of behavior among our members, some of them forgot their
roots and left their constituents.

To mend this, we set up an information and communication
department that will do all the public relations work. It will be
tasked with communicating all the good things within the PDI-P to
the public. In the past, the public was only exposed to our
members' ill behavior such as gambling, adultery and drug abuse.

Did the congress produce any change pertaining to the party
leader's authority?

We shied away from discussing whether or not the party leader
has the sole right to determine members of the central board, but
we set a criteria that to be nominated for the PDI-P top post,
candidates must be nominated by 25 percent of the congress
delegates.

However, we saw in the congress that Megawati was the only
candidate that won approval from more than 25 percent of the
delegates and her accountability report, in fact, was approved by
almost 100 percent of the delegates.

And according to the new statute, which states that if a
candidate wins more than 75 percent of support, she or he will
unanimously be declared a new leader. Hence, Megawati is the
party leader for the 2005-2010 term.

Authority has been granted to Megawati on the issues of
national ideology, the form of state, the preamble of the state
Constitution and issues relating to the party organization. The
last issue sparked a heated debate during the congress and in the
end, we agreed to modify it.

The prerogatives are still given to strategic issues that will
have a long-term impact for the party. We hope that the
modification can dispel worries that her power could be abused to
give favor to candidates who contest in the local elections.
Based on past experiences, delegates in the congress feared that
such power could be abused by those in Megawati's inner circle
because she did not have enough time to do everything. But now
they can be assured that it won't happen again, because the party
leader must deliver an accountability report.
How did PDI-P prepare itself for the 2009 elections?

The congress has decided that PDI-P will play an effective
opposition role and we have turned ideals into action by forming
a shadow cabinet. Our central board lineup also has departments
that oversee issues such as regional autonomy, internal and
external affairs, defense and the environment. These departments
will work to draw up alternative policies to be judged against
those offered by the government. This is unprecedented because
thus far, there have been no political parties that openly
declared themselves an opposition.