Suhardiman upset over expert's remarks on Golkar

JAKARTA (JP): Constitutional law expert Harun Alrasyid drew fire yesterday for saying the dominant political group Golkar should not take up seats in the House of Representatives as long as it refused to call itself a party.

Vice Chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council Suhardiman, who was one of Golkar's founders 33 years ago said Harun "must be politically blind," Antara reported.

Suhardiman said Harun had no knowledge of Golkar's history. "Do we have to invite him over to the council to explain it?" he asked.

Golkar, which stands for Golongan Karya (Functional Group), was founded with the help of the Army in 1964 to bring together various professional and nonpolitical groups to counter the Indonesian Communist Party's (PKI) growing power.

Suhardiman was head of SOKSI, a labor movement which became one of three major mass organizations supporting Golkar.

The PKI was banned after its abortive coup attempt in 1965, and Golkar became Indonesia's dominant political force.

Golkar, which refuses to call itself a party, won 74 percent of the vote in May's general election.

At a seminar to hammer out at ideas on Golkar's political concepts in Yogyakarta on Monday, Harun said Golkar's proper place was not the House of Representatives but the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

The University of Indonesia law professor said Golkar should review its status because it was effectively a political party, and no longer a functional group.

The 1945 Constitution's second article states that the House of Representatives is a forum for political parties, he said.

The constitution provided the MPR for functional groups, which is the proper place for Golkar, he said.

"This is wrong," Suhardiman said.

He recalled that Harun made another error sometime ago when he called for the Supreme Advisory Council to be abolished, saying it was ineffective.

On that occasion the council invited Harun over to explain how the council worked, he said.

Suhardiman said Golkar was not the same as the functional groups referred to in the second article of the Constitution, he said. This Golkar is written with capital G, he said.

The Golongan Karya in the Constitution is written in lower case and refers to professional groups and the like, he said.

Golkar's existence is regulated by Law No. 3/1985 on Political Parties and Golongan Karya, which recognizes Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), he said.

The House has 500 seats, 425 of which are contested by the three political groups and the other 75 are appointed by the Armed Forces.

The MPR includes the 500 House members and another 500 seats allocated to representatives of the provinces, professional organizations and public figures.

Another Supreme Advisory Council member, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Bambang Triantoro, said although Golkar did not call itself a party, its status, function, and organization were the same as any political party.

"It has not changed its name to a party because of its history. When Golkar was formed, it was an organization of functional groups. It has stuck to the name since then," he said.

Bambang said voters had no qualms about Golkar's name.

"People vote for whatever suits them, whether Golkar, PPP or PDI. They don't care why Golkar doesn't call itself a party," he said. (emb)