Poll results boost Golkar change for the presidency

Poll results boost Golkar change for the presidency

Jusuf Wanandi, Co-founder and Member, Board of Trustees
Center for Strategic and International Studies, (CSIS)
Jakarta

With the expected victory of the Golkar Party in the
legislative election of April 5, the party would become the
biggest faction of the House of Representatives (DPR).

For Golkar, this would entail some heavy responsibilities.
Party supporters would surely pressure the Golkar leadership to
also assume the lead in the House, which has become a powerful
institution under the new Constitution.

Pressure would also mount for a Golkar leader to take over
the presidency from Megawati Soekarnoputri. Her Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) may become the number two
faction of the House.

The legislative election has indeed given Golkar real momentum
and a political boost as its chances of securing the presidential
seat have increased.

That means that the Golkar convention to elect the party's
presidential candidate could also influence the future of the
country.

Almost all political groups are of the opinion that there is
a need for a new national leader. Future challenges will be more
complex, and the incumbent president is perceived to be incapable
of accomplishing such heavy tasks.

Golkar has undergone significant changes and its leaders are
astute and experienced in governing. The party has consolidated
and has come up with young leaders, sobered by the mistakes it
made during the Soeharto era. With a new mandate from those who
voted for Golkar on April 5, the party will be up to the
challenge of governing the country.

There are seemingly two front-runners for Golkar's
presidential candidate, namely Akbar Tandjung (leader of Golkar
and speaker of the House) and Wiranto (former commander of the
Indonesian Military).

Akbar Tandjung seems to have the best qualifications. He is
experienced in government, an astute politician and former leader
of the Muslim Student Union -- and he has balanced views.

As the leader of Golkar, he has been able to consolidate and
reform the party. But against him, is his alleged involvement in
a corruption case -- albeit not for himself but supposedly for
B.J. Habibie's presidential election in 1999. However, he has
been acquitted of the charge by the Supreme Court.

After the painful experience of facing the court, he appears
to be determined to formulate a solid and credible anticorruption
program, as well as appointing credible people to implement his
anticorruption drive and to enforce the law if he were to be
elected president.

Wiranto has a lot of money behind him and has made use of his
followers, among whom are former Army people, who had earlier
been appointed leaders of Golkar's provincial branches. But his
candidacy would be a disaster for Indonesia. The entire
international community, particularly the West and Japan would
not welcome his election.

Spearheaded by the media and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs)/civil societies all over the world, Indonesia would be
isolated from the international community and would not get the
necessary assistance and foreign investment that the country so
badly needs.

The governments of the West would not openly oppose his
candidacy, but Wiranto would face tremendous pressures from the
media, NGOs, and politicians (U.S. Congress, and other
parliamentary bodies). In the end, he could be arrested as in the
case of former Chilean president Augusto Pinochet in London
several years ago.

As is known, Wiranto had already been implicated by the United
Nations attorney for serious crimes in East Timor in the form of
human rights violations. These were allegedly committed by
Indonesian troops and the militia under the Indonesian Military
(TNI) during the riots in the aftermath of the referendum in
1999, when he was commander of the Armed Forces.

He had been warned about abuses and riots that might take
place before, during and after the referendum but he had assured
the international community that nothing would happen.

Wiranto did not, however, act firmly to prevent such abuses
or was unable to do so. But as commander of the military he was
responsible for those human rights violations.

Neither did he show leadership and do anything as the
commander of the TNI when the May riots of 1988 broke out in
Jakarta, in which over 1000 people were estimated to have died.
During the riots, many Chinese-Indonesians were blatantly
persecuted in what could be described as one of the gravest
tragedies of the country's history. Instead Wiranto left for East
Java on the same morning that mass riots erupted in the capital
city.

In fact, later during the special session of the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) in 1998 (and in the 1999 DPR
session), he unleashed the "militia" (Pamswakarsa) that he had
created -- consisting of extreme elements of religious groups and
other dubious elements of society -- to go up against the
students who were then demonstrating in opposition to the Habibie
government.

Hence, the shootings and killings of some students at the
Semanggi Cloverleaf Bridge, near Atma Jaya University in 1998
(and again in 1999, in front of the Jakarta Hospital) took place
when the Armed Forces were under Wiranto's command.

No wonder that, even in Indonesia, Wiranto would face
formidable opposition from students, civilians and the mass media
if he were to be elected presidential candidate of the Golkar
Party.

Golkar representatives who will elect the party's presidential
candidate in the convention therefore shoulder great
responsibility -- for the future of the country and the nation.
The chances that their candidate could win the presidential
election -- as long as the right candidate is chosen -- are now
better than ever.

Another criteria that a Golkar candidate should meet is the
ability to win against President Megawati, who is expected to be
the other finalist of the possible second round of the
presidential election on Sept. 20.

This would finally depend mainly on the unity and hard work of
the Golkar Party -- and its possible coalition partners -- in
supporting the candidate elected by the convention, and on the
credibility of the programs that the Golkar candidate would
promote.