Regions want changes in Golkar rules
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Golkar Party held a one-day meeting here on Friday, with several of its local leaders proposing that the party's regency branches be granted the right to vote at its upcoming election for a new chairman.
Golkar is holding its national congress to elect a new leader from Dec. 15 through Dec. 20 in Nusa Dua, Bali. Under the party's prevailing standing orders, only provincial chapters have voting rights.
"The aspirations of some regional areas floated at this forum will be brought to the congress. It's the congress that will make a decision," Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung told the press after the meeting at the Kartika Chandra Hotel, Jakarta.
He did not elaborate further on the issue. But sources said at least two provincial chapters of the Golkar -- North Sumatra and West Java -- raised the idea for the party to give its regency branches voting rights at the leadership congress.
Based on current standing orders, there will be 36 votes contested at the congress -- one for the central executive board, one for the party's subsidiary groups, one for the party's patron boards, and 33 for each of 33 provincial chapters.
The proposed granting of voting rights for Golkar's regency chapters is expected to benefit former military chief Gen. (Ret.) Wiranto, who will challenge Akbar in the race.
Wiranto apparently secured structural support from the regency branches of the country's biggest party.
The retired Army general defeated Akbar in the party's convention last April to select a Golkar presidential candidate. Wiranto won 315 votes, and party chairman Akbar 227.
This experience prompted Wiranto's camp to seek voting rights for regency chapters for the upcoming congress in Bali.
Other candidates to contest the Golkar's leadership race include media tycoon Surya Paloh and three Golkar deputy chairpersons Agung Laksono, Slamet Effendi Yusuf and Marwah Daud Ibrahim.
During Friday's meeting, participants also raised the issue of the criteria that candidates would need to meet to be deemed qualified for the Golkar chairmanship.
The proposed criteria included requiring only candidates with high capacity to be allowed to contest the race. However, it was not clear what was meant by "high capacity". Golkar was the political organization of former president Soeharto.
Golkar's standing orders stipulate that only Golkar politicians who have had at least five years experience as members of the party's executive board can be nominated as candidates for the top post.
Meanwhile, political observer Arbi Sanit from the University of Indonesia (UI) said that none of the existing candidates could outdo the capacity and integrity of Akbar in the upcoming race.
As the incumbent chairman, Akbar has access to all regional chapters, he argued.
M. Akil Mochtar, a Golkar legislator from West Kalimantan, said politicians and businessmen are keen to take over the party's leadership.
"Instead of establishing a new party that could cost billions of rupiah, it will be more effective for any wealthy figures to garner support for their chairmanship bids within Golkar during the congress," Akil said, commenting on possible money politics in the race.
Separately, former Golkar executive Indra Bambang Utoyo said he did not rule out the possibility of money politics during the congress.
"Money politics practices are a negative side of the conventions," he said.