Lee Kim Chew – Indonesia's biggest political parties expect to hang on to the votes they won in the 1999 polls, but two emerging Islamic parties are confident of making gains in April's parliamentary elections.

Lawmaker Jakob Tobing of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which is led by President Megawati Sukarnoputri, believes his party can garner 35 per cent of the vote because it has consolidated its support in the rural areas.

Golkar's deputy chairman Fahmi Idris is optimistic about improving on the ruling party's results in the last elections, when it won 22 per cent of the vote.

"Our target is 33.9 per cent this time," he told a seminar organised by the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at the Mandarin Hotel in Singapore yesterday.

He was equally confident that the opposition parties would be institutionalised in Indonesia's political system after the polls, regardless of the outcome, unlike the old days of one-party rule.

The deputy chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB), Dr Muhammad Hikam, said the lack of reforms under Ms Megawati gave his party a chance to make new inroads in the elections.

"We expect to increase our share of the vote from 12 per cent to 22 to 25 per cent," he said. "The next elections should result in fundamental change, not just regime change."

The vice-president of the Justice Party (PKS), Mr Almuzammil Yusuf, sees it as a new force in the political firmament. As a moderate Islamic party, it had growing support from university students and intellectuals with its campaign for reforms, he said.

The PKS, which has six MPs in parliament, expects to win 30 seats in April. It is counting on support from voters under 25 years old, who comprise one-third of its supporters. "We are still a small party, but one which is growing. We still need to struggle very much," said Mr Almuzammil.

Retired general Wiranto, another presidential aspirant who spoke at the seminar, said he still had a lot of support within Golkar to be its candidate. Questions had arisen about his candidacy after Golkar chief Akbar Tandjung, who is also planning to run for president, was acquitted of corruption charges.

Said Gen Wiranto: "I hope the party will choose its presidential candidate in a fair manner." But he has not ruled out joining other parties which have asked him to be their presidential candidate. "Which party I go with is a question of strategy which I cannot make public now," he said.