Pepabri members may support new Justice and Unity Party

Pepabri members may support new Justice and Unity Party

JAKARTA (JP): Former members of Golkar established here on
Friday the Justice and Unity Party (PKP), which some analysts
believed would "deflate" the dominant grouping and become a
serious poll contender.

Former Armed Forces (ABRI) commander Gen. (ret) Edi Sudradjat
is chairman of the new party, while former state minister of
sports Hayono Isman will serve as the PKP's secretary-general.

Edi's deputies are Tatto S. Pradjamanggala, Suryadi, Meutia
Hatta, Ki Hajar Umar Mansur, Sutradara Ginting, Anton Supit and
John Pierris. Ginting is currently a Golkar legislator in the
House of Representatives.

In a speech marking the party's founding, Edi said the new
party would fight for justice and national unity, insisting the
party would not discriminate against the religion, race, gender
or educational background of members.

Edi added, "we will struggle to create prosperity, self-
reliance and welfare for the nation, based on (the state
ideology) Pancasila".

Former vice president Try Sutrisno, who is chairman of the
Association of Retired Military Officers (Pepabri), which has
traditionally supported Golkar, attended the founding ceremony at
the Manggala Wanabakti building on Jl. Gatot Subroto in Central
Jakarta. He said members of the association were free to support
the new party.

Try emphasized that Pepabri was an independent organization,
encouraging members who join political parties "to keep on
fighting according to their political leanings".

Try, who is also a former ABRI commander, insisted that
because of its independence, Pepabri members were free to support
either Golkar or PKP.

Following Pepabri's decree last Sept. 14 allowing members to
join the political party of their choosing, Theo Syafei joined
the Indonesian Democratic Party, Basofi Soedirman the National
Awakening Party and Suwarno Adiwijoyo the National Mandate Party.

During the three decades of Soeharto's New Order regime, ABRI
and Pepabri members were obliged, albeit tacitly, to support
Golkar, through which Soeharto perpetuated his power.

After the declaration of PKP's founding, Hayono dismissed
suggestions that Pepabri had ordered its members to support PKP.
However, he also spoke about his plan to ask Pepabri branch
leaders across the country to assist PKP in establishing branches
in their regions.

Political observer Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia
believes there is more than mere competition between Golkar and
PKP. He said "animosity" between the two parties' elite would
breed hostility at the grass roots level.

The acrimony, he said, would lead to less votes for Golkar in
the upcoming poll because the followers of Golkar dissenters
would back PKP.

Political observer Hermawan Sulistyo also believes many of
Golkar's traditional supporters, such as members of the
Indonesian National Youth Committee, which is chaired by Hayono's
brother Maulana, will shift their allegiance to PKP.

The youth committee is an umbrella group for 39 youth
organizations, and boasts millions of members across the country.

The two scholars' observations were supported by Syahrudin,
the chairman of Golkar's Cianjur, West Java chapter, who
estimated that 30 percent of Golkar's members would jump ship for
various reasons.

"They may feel that being a Golkar member is not favorable to
their interests," Syahrudin was quoted by Antara as saying. (01)