PDI Perjuangan supports Mega for better or worse
PDI Perjuangan supports Mega for better or worse
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Leaders of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) across the country have thrown their support behind
chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, including her controversial
decisions in the elections of regional government heads.
A release issued at the end of the party's two-day meeting
said that her decisions put the nation's interests above party
interests, namely national security and sustainability of
regional development.
"The national meeting supported the decisions," said the
release signed by Gunawan Wirosarojo, who chaired the meeting.
The national meeting was attended by leaders of the 30 PDI
Perjuangan chapters across the country, as well as its
legislators and party leaders.
PDI Perjuangan has come under public scrutiny following
decisions by its central executive board to ignore people's
aspiration in a number of gubernatorial elections.
Taufik Kiemas, Megawati's husband and an influential party
figure, said earlier that the controversial decisions were made
because PDI Perjuangan lacked potential leaders deemed capable of
leading the people in the regions.
The lack of capable candidates has prompted decision-makers in
PDI Perjuangan to choose military and civilian outsiders deemed
fit to be governors and deputy governors in the regions, instead
of party cadres, said Taufik.
He further said that the governors the party had chosen to
support had proven to be capable of maintaining security in their
respective areas and enhancing people's welfare, and thus
deserved a second term.
Taufik was referring to several controversial decisions,
including those in Jakarta, Bali and Central Java, in which the
central board had not sided with the interests of respective
chapters and the grassroots in gubernatorial elections.
In Jakarta, PDI Perjuangan defended Lt. Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso's
run for a second term, instead of backing its own cadre; and in
Central Java, PDI Perjuangan favored incumbent governor
Mardiyanto, a high-ranking military official, to retain his post
for a second term, instead of Mardijo, a loyal party cadre.
The defeat of Mardijo caused a heated protest in the Central
Java capital of Semarang, in which party supporters vented their
anger on the party's flags and banners bearing PDI Perjuangan
chairwoman Megawati's picture.
The two-day national meeting was arranged following these
incidents, which many believed would tarnish the party's image
ahead of the 2004 general elections.