Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The Golkar Party is facing the threat of internal disintegration, with influential members and affiliated groups seemingly at odds with party chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
The threat could diminish Golkar's chances of repeating its achievement in the 2004 elections, when it won 22 percent of votes to secure 128 seats at the House of Representatives.
Ten days after Kalla hinted he would sign on again as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's running mate in next year's election, the Golkar-affiliated Central Organization for Indonesian Employees (Soksi) nominated Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X as its presidential candidate.
"The sultan is a figure who can bring change to the nation, because this series of crises should not go on. There should be immediate fundamental change," Soksi chief patron Suhardiman said after the announcement on Wednesday. Hamengkubuwono subsequently accepted the nomination.
The announcement also signals that Soksi and party affiliates MKGR and Kosgoro are opposed to the Golkar central board's decision to delay the nomination of a presidential candidate from within the party until after the legislative election on April 9, 2009. "It's an indirect coup against Kalla," Reform Institute executive director Yudhi Latif said.
Recent surveys reveal that Hamengkubuwono can win far more votes than Kalla, either as a presidential or vice presidential hopeful.
Kalla's hint that he would run with Yudhoyono has effectively shut the door on other Golkar stalwarts from standing as the party's presidential candidate, and according to Yudhi, has sparked a rebellion against him and weakened the party's mechanism to woo voters.
"It's dangerous; party members will not work hard enough to get votes for Golkar in the election because they won't see any reason to do so," Yudhi said.
In the run-up to the 2004 elections, Golkar held a convention to choose its presidential candidate – a move that boosted the party's standing by unifying party members in a single goal.
The threat of mutiny within Golkar is not a new issue. In 2004, the party's presidential candidate Wiranto and his running mate Solahudin Wahid were at loggerheads with Kalla, who ran with Yudhoyono, nominated by the Democratic Party.
House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono may follow in Kalla's steps by running as the deputy of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman.
Other factions within Golkar, including that led by former chairman Akbar Tandjung, MKGR's old guards and young guns like Yuddhi Chrisnandi, all look set to challenge Kalla.
However, Golkar deputy secretary-general Rully Chairul Azwar dismissed suggestions the party was breaking up, saying it would convene after the legislative election to decide who would represent the party, with all elements working to choose a presidential candidate.
Golkar legislator Harry Azhar Azis said the difference of opinion between the party's elements indicated a functioning democracy within the party.