PDI Perjuangan weakened by its own leader

PDI Perjuangan weakened by its own leader

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Internal rifts in the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI Perjuangan) have surfaced of late, and, if not dealt with
properly, could weaken the country's largest political party.

And the trigger for these rifts is the very person who made
the party as powerful as it is -- Megawati Soekarnoputri, the
party's chairwoman.

Controversial decisions by Megawati to block a proposed
investigation of a graft case involving Golkar Party chairman
Akbar Tandjung, and to support the reelection of Jakarta Governor
Sutiyoso have triggered acts of defiance by party members across
the country.

When the time came for the House of Representatives to vote on
the formation of a team to look into the Akbar case, many PDI
Perjuangan legislators abstained or voted for the proposal,
defying Megawati's desire to block the investigation.

One of those who voted for the formation of the team, Indira
Damayanti Sugondo, later tendered her resignation from the House
in an apparent protest against Megawati's stance.

Indira was the third PDI Perjuangan legislator to leave the
House, following Sophan Sophiaan and Dimyati Hartono.

And some members of the party's Jakarta branch have publicly
opposed Megawati's decision to back Sutiyoso in the gubernatorial
election.

Also, according to some reports, PDI Perjuangan's Bali and
East Java branches have gone their own ways, not implementing the
policies of Megawati and the party's central board.

Ironically, these little rebellions are taking place with
Megawati at the peak of her political career, as the country's
President.

Sophan, the first PDI Perjuangan legislator to resign from the
House, said public trust in the party was currently at its lowest
level.

"All of these shows of defiance will definitely weaken the
party. I have never seen these kinds of acts before," Sophan told
The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He said these internal fractures were becoming a real threat
because for the first time they had begun to involve the party's
grassroots supporters, who form the bulk of the party's voters.

It was reported by Tempo magazine in its latest edition that
disappointed grassroots voters had established the Communication
Forum for PDI Perjuangan Cadres, as a meeting point for
disillusioned party supporters.

The magazine said branches of the forum had begun to spread
throughout the country, even reaching Papua.

This phenomenon is happening, Sophan said, because many of the
party's executives want to retain power by making peace with the
old power players from the New Order, like the Golkar Party and
the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Meanwhile, some reform-minded party executives want to keep
alive the spirit of the reform movement, which began when
Soeharto fell from power in 1998.

PDI Perjuangan, which became the largest party after the
reform movement and collected 34 percent of the vote in the 1999
general election, does not appear to be ready to dominate the
political field. It sometimes seems the party is trapped by the
lure of power, and forgets about the reform movement that it rode
to prominence.

If the internal bickering continues and Megawati fails to take
action to rectify the situation, the party will be hard pressed
to muster the same level of support in the 2004 general election
as it received in the previous elections.

Sophan warned that the fate of the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI), of which Megawati was a member until 1994, could
eventually befall PDI Perjuangan.

He recalled how members and supporters fled the Soeryadi-led
PDI because of their anger over the intervention of former
president Soeharto in the party.

He warned that supporters might abandon PDI Perjuangan because
of "disappointment with the party itself".

Sophan's warning about the loss of trust the party is
experiencing should not be lightly dismissed.

But party executives, especially those close to Megawati, seem
to be doing just that, playing down the threats by saying that
PDI Perjuangan had always been colored with dissenting opinions.

"We are a democratic party, people have always had different
views. It has always been like that since the day we were
established," the party's deputy chairman, Roy BB Janis, told the
Post.

Roy also played down the possibility that there would be an
exodus from PDI Perjuangan, saying the party still had faith in
the daughter of founding president Sukarno.

Political analyst Fachry Ali agreed with this view, saying
that although Megawati was losing her traditional supporters, who
formed the backbone of PDI Perjuangan's election success in 1999,
she still had no competition within the party from other leaders.

But Sophan was of a different opinion, saying he would not be
surprised if some party branches considered proposing a special
congress to replace Megawati as chairperson.

"That could happen because she has abandoned the ideology of
the party, which was to side with the people," he said.

He said that to save the party, the executive board should
change its leadership style and begin to lend an ear to the
people's wishes.

"Mega must listen to the people and their aspirations. That is
the only thing that can save the battered image of the party,"
Sophan said.

However, whether Megawati will change her leadership style or
back down from controversial decisions because of pressure from
the party's grassroots supporters remains to be seen.

As one of Megawati's close aides said: "It is not her style to
change a decision just because people ask her to do so."

When asked if she would maintain this style, even at the cost
of the party's political image, the aide said: "I guess so."