Jakarta – Chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Soekarnoputri has vowed to be the voice of opposition in keeping the government in check.

"We pledge to be the opposition party," the former president said before thousands of followers and newly elected PDI-P branch heads of the Greater Jakarta Area in a speech to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the party on Jl. Proklamasi, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday. "We will continue to monitor the government in its fulfillment of its campaign promises."

Megawati told party followers that they should not doubt the party's opposition stance. "We will not blindly oppose, we will be an opposition loyal to Pancasila as the state ideology, loyal to the constitution and loyal to the people," she said.

PDI-P has acknowledged a lack of support for the party within the legislature due to its perceived ineffectiveness as an opposition force in the past year.

Members of the party, which finished second in the 2004 general election and has 109 representatives in the 550-seat House, have told the media that the remaining representatives are progovernment.

PDI-P faction head Tjahyo Kumolo said it was reasonable for a faction to support the government but contended the legislature must not act as a "supporting institution" for an administration. "The function of the House members as representatives of the people must be restored," he was quoted as saying by Koran Tempo.

PDI-P's complaints of a progovernment bias in the legislature has been criticized by other parties, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and the winner of the 2004 general election, the Golkar Party.

Secretary of the Democratic Party faction Max Sopacua commented that opposition parties should not focus on the number of seats they hold in the legislature, but rather strive to correct misguided policies and acknowledge appropriate ones.