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)