Pressure up for Golkar to hold early congress

A'an Suryana and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An internal rift has cast a shadow over the planned Golkar Party executive board meeting early next month, which may be marked by talks on holding an extraordinary congress to demand that Akbar Tandjung account for his troubled leadership.

A Golkar executive, Yasril Ananta Baharuddin, acknowledged there were "certain elements inside the party" who had stepped up demands for the holding of a snap congress that could cost Akbar his chairmanship of the party.

Yasril did not identify the group. Neither would he say how serious the demand was.

"A proposal to stage an extraordinary congress was discussed during our most recent meeting," he said,

According to Yasril, no resolution had been agreed upon, but party executives who supported Akbar finally agreed to continue the talks during the upcoming meeting scheduled to last from Feb. 7 to Feb. 9.

Golkar top executives and patrons regrouped for a two-day meeting on Tuesday, and on Wednesday held a consolidation meeting, which was presided over by Akbar.

A member of the Golkar board of patrons, Ahmad Arnold Baramuli, has so far been the only one to have openly called for an extraordinary congress. Baramuli heads the Iramasuka caucus, which groups Golkar politicians from eastern Indonesia.

Baramuli attended the first meeting on Tuesday.

He has several times in the past suggested an extraordinary congress to unseat Akbar, whom he accuses of failing to comply with the party's decision to ensure BJ Habibie's victory in the 1999 presidential election.

The demand has gained new momentum since Akbar was named a suspect in the alleged misuse of Rp 40 billion belonging to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) in 1999 when he was the state secretary/minister.

Yasril said Wednesday's meeting mainly discussed "the party's internal consolidation", although the Bulog scam, which has implicated Akbar, was also touched on.

Golkar deputy chairman Fahmi Idris, who also chairs the Golkar faction in the People's Consultative Assembly, played down the internal rift.

"Differences of opinion are normal and natural in a party's daily life," he said.

The Akbar camp, however, has prepared moves to foil any attempt to win support for an extraordinary congress.

Rully Chairul Azwar said that unlike normal executive meetings at which representatives of regional branches were invited, next month's forum would only be attended by Golkar's top executives and representatives of provincial chapters.

The party rules stipulate that any decision to hold an extraordinary congress requires the presence of representatives of the regional branches.

"The proposal must be agreed upon by two-thirds of the delegates representing regional branches and provincial chapters. Since the regional branches are not going to be invited, a decision on such a proposal cannot be taken," he said.