PDI's exclusion from electoral body questioned
PDI's exclusion from electoral body questioned
JAKARTA (JP): Politicians yesterday questioned the government's decision to exclude the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) from the electoral committee in East Java, saying the move will reduce the significance of next year's election.
Hamzah Haz, a senior legislator from the United Development Party (PPP), said the exclusion of PDI may diminish people's trust in the legality of the forthcoming election.
"It should not have happened," chairman of the PPP faction in the House of Representatives (DPR) told journalists.
East Java Governor Basofi Sudirman said in Surabaya on Monday the local PDI chapter had to resolve its leadership rift before it could propose names for the electoral committee.
Yesterday, the PDI executive board issued a statement, saying that, with the exclusion of PDI, the electoral committee was "not valid".
The statement reminded Basofi that the board, through a letter dated Nov. 29, 1995, had submitted four names to represent the party in the committee. "The letter was never answered."
"We call on the governor to refer to the letter in determining the PDI representatives in the committee," the statement said.
There are two figures, Latief Pudjosakti and Sutjipto who both claim to be the legitimate leader of the PDI chapter in East Java. The government, which apparently backs Latief, refuses to recognize either and insists on a fresh election.
Chief of the PDI central executive board Megawati Soekarnoputri considers Sutjipto the legitimate leader and charges Basofi with meddling in the party's internal affairs.
Andi Matalata from the ruling Golkar group said the exclusion of PDI is regrettable.
He called on the rift-ridden PDI and the government to seek a prompt solution to the problem.
Basofi's move, he noted, can ruin the "familial spirit" which is strongly upheld in Indonesian political culture.
"The election is not a mere matter of winning or losing. Everyone should realize that the election is a manifestation of people's sovereignty," he said.
Even the spokesman of the Ministry of Home Affairs, H.S.A. Jussac, called the exclusion of PDI in East Java electoral board is making the government feel "defective".
Jussac told reporters that the solution now is for Megawati to hold a meeting with all the party's leaders in East Java and resolve the conflict once for all.
Riswandha Imawan from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta said Basofi's move further attests to the speculation that government officials are split in dealing with the PDI.
He pointed out that although Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. has recognized Megawati's leadership, the East Java government nurtures its support for Latief.
"If the PDI crisis is not resolved soon, I believe fewer people will go to the polls in next year's election," he said.
Riswandha observes that Megawati, the eldest daughter of Indonesia's first president Sukarno, has begun to lose the initiative in handling the rift within the PDI.
"This is obvious from her recent statement that the bickering stems from not within the party, but from external forces that want to see the PDI remain weak," he said. (pan/har)