Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Golkar chief and Parliament Speaker Akbar Tandjung has come under fire on allegations of corruption, which observers said may be a move from within his own party to unseat him from the coveted leadership post.

Mr Akbar was implicated in a case involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) after its former head, Mr Rahardi Ramelan, last week told the Attorney-General's office that he had disbursed 40 billion rupiah (S$7.6 million) of Bulog's non-budgetary funds in 1999 to the then-secretary of state to fund a social security programme.

Mr Akbar said the move was ordered by then-president B.J. Habibie during a limited Cabinet meeting. Reports have emerged, however, that the funds were used to finance Golkar's 1999 election campaign win.

Indicating a widening split within the second-largest party in Parliament, these claims have come from Golkar's own members. Said a Straits Times source in Golkar: "There are a lot of flaws in this argument. If there was a limited Cabinet meeting, then why weren't there any records of the meeting?" He said Bulog had traditionally been a cash cow for Golkar since the 1970s.

But this cash cow "belongs" to one of the party's factions that observers say is fanning the issue to rock Mr Akbar's leadership.

Using the pretext that his involvement in the case is tainting the party's image, some factions are trying to pressure party leaders to speed up the National Congress, now set for 2004, to elect a new party boss. "As a political party we need a positive image, which Mr Akbar may have already lost by being involved in this case," said the Golkar source.

There are at least two influential factions within the party opposing Mr Akbar's leadership, including the Iramasuka caucus, whose constituents in eastern Indonesia make up the bulk of Golkar's voters. This caucus' disdain of Mr Akbar began when he dropped his support for Mr Habibie's failed attempt to run for president in 1999. Under his leadership, members of this caucus have also been largely sidelined.

Another source close to Mr Akbar said he suspected another faction led by former Cabinet minister Ginandjar Kartasasmita was behind the campaign to implicate him. The source said Mr Ginandjar had harboured personal resentment against Mr Akbar, whom he saw as backing the move by then-attorney-general Marzuki Darusman to prosecute him.

Golkar deputy secretary-general Muchyar Yara said that to his party's elite, "Akbar is perceived as incapable of accommodating their needs. Sure, he has a major role in the survival of Golkar post-Suharto, but his grasp on the dynamics of Indonesian politics has weakened".