Will old political parties slid into trash can of history?
By Pandaya
JAKARTA (JP): Emerging proreform parties are threatening to toss the three old political organizations -- United Development Party (PPP), Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) -- into the dust bin of history.
Since president Soeharto's downfall in May, the three have borne the stigma of being useless products of the New Order authoritarian government.
Last week, 11 of the more than 50 new political parties came together as one and formed a forum with the intention to "destroy" Golkar, PPP and the Soerjadi-led PDI faction.
Spearheaded by Sri Bintang Pamungkas of the Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI) and nationalist figures, the forum reserves its empathy for the PDI faction under opposition leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.
"We will not give a minute to Golkar, PPP or Soerjadi's PDI to get up off their knees," said Pamungkas, a former PPP legislator who was jailed last year on charges of insulting Soeharto.
Officials from Golkar, which Soeharto used as a political vehicle to stay in power for 32 years, predictably play down the threat.
The threat may not come to much, yet disintegration is looming large because Golkar, PPP and PDI are losing more and more of the political groups that make them up.
Golkar, reformists' obvious target of anger over the political, economic and moral crisis, is losing the support of the Armed Forces and the bureaucracy -- on which it relies.
The Armed Forces as an institution has pledged neutrality and the six-million-strong civil servants and their families will be free to vote for any party.
MKGR, which formed Golkar in 1964 with Soksi and Kosgoro, has broken ranks with Golkar and transformed itself into an independent political party.
In the latest development, more than 20 retired generals and Soksi and Kosgoro senior figures formed the National Front which aims to "deflate" Golkar, which the group says has "committed too many unforgivable sins".
Led by Lt. Gen. Kemal Idris, the front was formed in an obvious show of the aging Army general's dismay over the embarrassing defeat of Gen. (ret) Edi Sudrajat in last month's race for the Golkar chairmanship. Emerging as winner was Akbar Tandjung, a civilian who has the support of Moslem groups, President B.J. Habibie and Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto.
Reinforcing the National Front, officially launched on Thursday, are well-known figures such as Lt. Gen. (ret) Ali Sadikin, Lt. Gen. (ret) Kharis Suhud, Lt. Gen. Harsudiono Hartas. Rachmat Witoelar, a one-time Golkar secretary-general and ambassador to Moscow, and Soebroto, a former mining minister and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) secretary- general, are among civilian figures joining forces.
To woo potential voters, the beleaguered Golkar is pondering making Golkar an independent, proreform party.
Despite its fast waning popularity, Golkar is financially the strongest with at least Rp 17 billion (US$1.4 million) in its coffers. It is also locking horns with Soeharto over another Rp 800 billion collected by Dakab, a foundation the former president founded to finance Golkar activities.
The vast sums of money have raised fear among critics that Golkar will play money politics to win next May's general election.
Disintegration is also happening within the Moslem-oriented PPP, a 1973 ally of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the Indonesian Syarikat Islam Party (PSII), the Tarbiyah Islamiyah Association (PERTI) and the Indonesian Moslem Party (Parmusi).
PSII has declared itself an independent party that will run in next year's elections. Nahdlatul Ulama has formed the People's Awakening Party which has received support from numerous sectors thanks to its nationalistic flavor.
PPP, the second largest party after Golkar, has also lost some of its best and brightest cadres. Outspoken legislator Chofifah Indar Parawansa, for example, has defected to the People's Awakening Party founded by NU chief Abdurrahman Wahid.
"There is no problem with people abandoning the party. Anyone inclined to go may just go ahead," says PPP chief Ismail Hasan Metareum in his usual cold tone. He is upbeat that his party will remain strong.
Respected reformist Amien Rais, who has founded his own People's Mandate Party (PAB), has predicted PPP's demise in the forthcoming elections.
His call for PPP to form a coalition with PAB has become a divisive issue.
"It would be an irrational political move that would retard the PPP," Central Java PPP executive board chairman Karmani says as quoted by Antara.
In Surakarta, local party leaders have openly pleaded with Amien Rais to head the PPP.
The worst leadership rift has been plaguing the smallest party, PDI, an uneasy ally of nationalists and tiny Christian parties.
Both Megawati, who was democratically elected in an extraordinary congress in 1993, and splinter leader Soerjadi who has government backing are sticking to their claims that they are the legitimate party boss. The Supreme Court is expected to soon issue a ruling on their legal battle.
Under the unpopular Soerjadi, PDI's seats in the House dropped to 11 from 56 in the 1997 general election. While Megawati, a close associate of Abdurrahman Wahid, enjoys growing popularity as an opposition figurehead.
Like Golkar and PPP, PDI is also growing lean as some of its seniors have gone their separate ways and started their own parties. Soepeni, for example, has revived the Indonesian National Party (PNI) -- the dominant faction of PDI.
The PDI faction under Megawati is currently flirting with Abdurrahman's People's Awakening Party in the hope of forming a coalition. If the coalition materializes, it is widely believed it will enjoy a landslide win in next year's elections because both Megawati and Abdurrahman boast huge grassroots support.