By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, May 3 (ANTARA) - The Golkar Party is now facing internal rifts between its central executive board and regional branches over a stand the former New Order political machine should take with regard to coalition and presidential/vice presidential candidacy for the upcoming July 8, 2009 presidential elections.
Before last April 9 legislative elections, Golkar General Chairman Jusuf Kalla (JK) faced pressures from regional branches that Golkar should nominate its own presidential hopeful.
Now, he is facing another round of pressures from district branches that it should coalesce with and offer its vice presidential candidate to the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party, of which incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) is chief patron, is the winner with 20 percent of the votes of the April 9 legislative elections based on exit polls organized by a number of survey institutions. Golkar, winner of the 2004 legislative elections, finished third with about 14 percent of the votes.
Incumbent Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who bowed to regional branches' pressures and announced his readiness during the recent election campaigns to run for presidency, officially declared on Friday Wiranto of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) as his running mate in the next presidential race.
Kalla, who long before the election campaigns, has expressed his willingness to maintain his duet with Yudhoyono, was given last week the mandate by Golkar special national leadership meeting to build political communications with other political parties to form a coalition and decide a presidential/vice presidential candidate pair.
However, the Golkar chairman is now facing internal rifts between those supporting his presidential bid and those pressing for coalescing again with the Democratic Party.
"We have to admit that there are factions within Golkar which are unsatisfied with the declaration of JK-Wiranto presidential candidate pair. This is a kind of 'star wars' within the party elite over an attempt to abort the decision," Zainal Bintang, founder of the 'JK 4 President' said Saturday night.
Zaenal Bintang, a leader of the MKGR, a mess organization affiliated to Golkar, said that Golkar had to work hard to overcome the internal rifts and offset the impact of the the 'star wars.'
He said that dissatisfactions aroused not only within Golkar but also outside the party, namely those who wanted to take advantage of Golkar as a 'riding horse'. Bintang, who is also a compartment chairman of Golkar said that Golkar's decision to declare its presidential and vice presidential pair needed to be safeguarded.
"Kalla has to conduct a road-show to regions immediately to unite the heart and thoughts of Golkar's cadres in all layers. His visit to potential cadres in the regions is the best way to build strengths," Bintang said.
He said that Kalla should not be careless because cadres who were disappointed were strong. "They continue to build consolidation and strength and try to capitalize on Kalla's weaknesses," Bintang Added.
Irsyad Sudiro, a senior cadre of Golkar, also aired the same voice. He said that there were cadres who were unsatisfied with the declaration of Kalla and Wiranto as Golkar's presidential and vice presidential candidates for the upcoming presidential contest.
"Not all aspirations in the district level want Golkar to nominate its own presidential hopeful," Sudiro said. He said that with winning only about 14 percent of the votes in the April 9 legislative elections, Golkar had no enough chance to win the presidential elections. Therefore, some Golkar cadres want that Golkar should coalesce with the Democratic Party and continue its SBY-JK duet for the second term.
Sudiro, who is also a chairman of the House of Board of Ethics, said that he himself was one of the cadres who wanted Golkar to maintain its coalition with the Democratic Party because a coalition with it had a big chance to win the presidential elections.
"For sure, not all elements within Golkar are willing to accept the JK-Wiranto duet but the JK-SBY instead," Sudiro said.
However, in get-together with the leaders of Golkar Party's district-level branches in Makassar, South Sulawesi on Saturday, Kalla revealed why he decided to part the Democratic Party and broke with Yudhoyono.
"As many as three times, I told President Yudhoyono that Golkar still wanted to remain a partner, but every time the answer was yes, we will be together, no clear answer. If it's yes, then say yes. If it's no, then say no. So it meant, well, let us just part. Golkar is not begging for any position," Kalla said.
He said that Yudhoyono even set certain conditions. "I have been serving as his vice president, still he set conditions. This was just a way to say no, meaning there was no sincerity. We, Golkar, felt our self-respect was compromised," Kalla said.
Because Golkar felt it was being belittled, Golkar eventually decided to separate from the Democratic Party, he said.
He reminded that when a cadre of the Democratic Party sometime in the past said Golkar would only be able to win 2.5 percent of the legislative elections, Golkar felt it was being belittled.
Therefore, all provincial branches of Golkar at that time asked him to move forward as a presidential hopeful. "Because Golkar felt its dignity was being offended, I could not reject pressures from provincial branches who wanted to nominate me. If I reject it, it will cause divisions within Golkar," he said.
Now however, Kalla is facing many obstacles posed by the people within as well as outside the Golkar Party in his bid to run for president.
"Certain elements in the party claiming to represent Golkar's 320 district branches are against my bid. But when I checked, they only proved to represent themselves, somebody had paid them. I ordered the police to arrest those people who had misused the party's name," Kalla said.***1*** (T.A014/A/H-NG/a014)
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