Ruling Golkar warned of political blunders

Ruling Golkar warned of political blunders

JAKARTA (JP): Members of Golkar, the ruling political
organization, have been advised to watch their step so as not to
make any political errors in the run-up to the 1997 election.

"Be thoughtful in making decisions on economic and political
matters so as not to make blunders," said Siswono Yudohusodo, a
member of Golkar's powerful board of patrons.

Siswono, who is better-known as minister of transmigration and
resettlement of forest squatters, gave his warning when
addressing Golkar members in the West Nusa Tenggara capital of
Mataram on Saturday.

As the general election is only about eight months away,
Golkar members in the bureaucracy should act carefully so not to
tarnish the dominant organization's image, he warned.

Golkar will contest 425 seats in the House of Representatives
next year with its rivals, the United Development Party (PPP) and
the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

The government has yet to set the date for the election but it
is scheduled to take place either in May or June next year.

Golkar hopes to increase its domination of the House by at
least five percent to 73 percent. Currently, Golkar has 282
seats, PPP 62 and PDI 56. The remaining 100 are reserved for the
Armed Forces. But as of next year their allocation will be
reduced to 75.

Siswono said Golkar should be able to recoup the 16 seats it
lost to the PDI and one to the PPP in the 1992 general election.

"Increasing the number of our seats by five percent will be no
easy job. It needs hard work," he said at the gathering, also
attended by West Nusa Tenggara Governor Warsito.

In the course of the next eight months, he said, Golkar
officials should work to win people's sympathy and should never
hurt people's feelings.

Golkar cadres should do this by doing concrete work," he was
quoted as saying by the Antara news agency.

Siswono said the political climate at present is more tense
than that in the same period five years ago.

"There is a party which is trying to shake national stability
by building 'people's power'," he said. "Golkar should be
vigilant of any force, however small it may be, that aims to rock
the boat."

Siswono did not name the party. It is understood that the
government has suspected the ousted leader of PDI, Megawati
Soekarnoputri, of trying to mobilize the so-called "people's
power".

Although the government has been able to suppress attempts to
undermine the nation's political stability, efforts to revive
them will never die, he warned. (pan)