POLITICAL ELITE BEGIN MANEUVERS IN FACE OF 2009 ELECTIONS

By Andi Abdussalam


        Jakarta, Dec 25 (ANTARA) - Although the legislative and presidential elections are still two years away, the country's political elites have been starting this year with a maneuver to build strength.

        The idea to form a national league by Taufik Kiemas, chief adviser of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDID), his meeting with Gokar Party's adviser Surya Paloh and a meeting between Megawati Soekarnoputri of PDI-P and Abdurrahman `Gus Dur' Wahid of the National Awakening Party (PKB) observers said were efforts to form coalitions.

        Paloh and Kiemas became under the spotlight of the media when they met in Medan, North Sumatra, in June, where the two sides said the Golkar Party and the PDI-P were determined to secure government strategic positions in order to guarantee stability in the country. The meeting between the two party leaders was immediately construed as an effort to build an alliance.

        Besides, Kiemas also initiated a plan to establish a national league which is composed of the PDI-P, Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Mandate Party (PAN).

        In the meantime, former president Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri also met early in October but party leaders said it was just an ordinary meeting and had nothing to do with the 2009 presidential elections.

        "The meeting was just a relaxed and friendly get-together between a brother and sister and the talks touched on issues about the government's performance and problems faced by the people," Tjahjo Kumolo of the PDIP said.

        Although the meeting did not specially discuss the presidential candidacy of Megawati for the 2009 general elections, Gus Dur expressed his support if Megawati would come forward to become a presidential candidate from PDIP, Kumolo said. PDI-P had announced it was naming Megawati as its candidate for the 2009 presidential election.

        Commenting on the party leaders' maneuvers, House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Agung Laksono, who is also deputy chairman of the Golkar Party said it was still too early for political parties to establish coalitions because the next general elections were still two years away.

        He said that Surya Paloh's encounter with Kiemas in Medan in June had yet to undergo a formal process of entering a coalition with any political party.

        "The meeting with the PDI-P is only an effort to establish good relations which can also be set up with other political parties. So don't worry about such a political process," he said, adding that Golkar still serve as a government supporting party.

        According to Agung, the right time to establish a coalition would be some time prior to the legislative election. "But it is too early to discuss it now," he said in response to the idea to establish a "national league."

        Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Hidayat Nurwahid questioned Kiemas's idea of establishing a league. The criteria of a national league were not clear, whether it was based on nationalist or religious ideals, he said.

        He said if the national league was based on nationalist ideals, then why was the Democrat Party not involved in it, or if it was based on religious ideals, why was the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) not included.

        Observers also believed that it was still too early for political parties to establish a national league because they were still studying their chances in the 2009 general elections.

        "There is no guarantee that this coalition would stay longer. After all, the fate of PPP, for example, still has to be decided by the results of the legislative elections whether or not it reaches the threshold that enables it to nominate its own presidential candidate," said Yudhi Latif, director of the Reform Institute.

        Media reports said, however, that the coalition was not designed to last long. As reported by some national media, one of the coalition's objectives was to revise the law on politics with a view to narrowing the door of presidential candidates from outsiders instead of from Golkar and PDI-P.

        Gus Dur Wahid took no notice of the "Red-Yellow" coalition scenario between the PDI-P and the Golkar party on a revision of the law on politics being discussed by the House of Representatives.

        "Let them do it," Gus Dur said shortly after attending a ceremony in Madiun city East Java, in response to the scenario in June.

        The emergence of the scenario seemed to be part of big parties' strategy in facing the presidential elections in 2009.

        Over that idea, it was not impossible that other parties would also find difficulties in forging an inter-party coalition as what Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla had done when they were presidential and vice presidential candidates in 2004.

        As what had happened in 2004, the nomination of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Democrats Party and Jusuf Kalla of the Golkar party constituted the result of a coalition of the Democrats Party, Crescent Star Party and the Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) in their bid to meet the 15 percent vote requirement.

        Suppose that the Golkar Party eventually coalesces with the PDI-P, will they win strategic positions as what Paloh and Kiemas have proclaimed in their June meeting in Medan? On paper, yes, they will.

        But there is another opinion saying otherwise.

        In spite of a possible Megawati Soekarnoputri - Jusuf Kalla coalition, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will still enjoy most of the people's support in the 2009 election, National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) Governor Prof Muladi said.

        "It is not a political party that the people are supposed to elect in 2009. I predict that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will gain the strongest support," Muladi noted. (T.A014/A/HNG/A/E002) (T.A014/A/A014/A/E002) 24-12-2007 22:51:29