Jakarta – Political forces loyal to former president Soeharto have enormous financial resources at their disposal to engineer a legitimate comeback during the coming elections, politician Soegeng Sarjadi warned here yesterday.

Soegeng, a former legislator for the ruling Golkar grouping who switched allegiance to the Indonesian Democratic Party in 1992, said the "old" pro-Soeharto forces wielded the necessary material means despite lacking political clout at present.

He noted that Soeharto's Dakab foundation, set up mainly to finance Golkar social activities in July 1985, has assets estimated at Rp 836.2 billion. "A mere 5 percent interest on half of that sum per month is already a huge amount of money, and this can be used to buy votes (in the elections)," Soegeng told a discussion held by the Center for Information and Development Studies (CIDES). He advised public and proreform figures to remain vigilant. "The upcoming elections should never return the old political forces."

Elections are expected to be held in the middle of next year after an extraordinary session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) this December sets a poll date. Talk has been rife this past week about the possibility that Soeharto, who resigned from the presidency on May 21, may be maneuvering to stage a comeback. ABRI subsequently warned that it would not allow the return of old political forces.

Soeharto is technically still the chief patron of Golkar, the political organization which holds a majority in the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly. His position endows him with overriding power over other Golkar components, including the central executive board. Two of his children, Siti Hardijanti Rukmana and Bambang Trihatmodjo, are also executive members of Golkar.

Both Soegang and fellow speaker Dawam Rahardjo noted the crucial role which could be played by the Armed Forces (ABRI) by not supporting parties, especially Golkar, which were likely favorably disposed to the former government. Both suggested the Armed Forces should be completely neutral in the political arena.

Political scientist Dawam Rahardjo of CIDES ventured that the Armed Forces would stay clear of politics. "They (ABRI) are a state apparatus, so they should not involve themselves in politics," Dawam argued. He did not touch on whether it should also surrender its traditional sociopolitical role.

Dawam said it may also be time to do away with the sole ideology principle for political parties. He suggested the government look into the possibility of revoking a provision in the political party law which stipulates that every party must be based on the state ideology of Pancasila. "Pancasila is a state ideology, not the principle of political parties."

He said that political parties should be free to decide on their own identity and principles, and that the use of a sole ideological principle could also hamper freedom of thought and eventually democracy. "I believe that now is the end of the ideology era... We have to be more practical." He warned that the glorification of a single ideology would lead to a dominant faction, like Golkar in the past, manipulating it to further its own interests by professing to uphold its sanctity.

[According to a June 27 Dow Jones Newswire report, Suharto's youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra ("Tommy") has rejected calls that he and three siblings resign from the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). The other three are eldest daughter Tutut Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, second son Bambang Trihatmojo and youngest daughter Siti Hendiyanti Prabowo. Six other Suharto relatives are also MPR members - James Balowski.]