Dianto P. Simamora and Dicky Christanto, Jakarta, Makassar – The Golkar Party has relaxed criteria for chairmanship, paving the way for Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, who has yet to hold a leadership post in the party, to continue running for the party's top seat.
The decision was made in a plenary meeting of the party's executive board chaired by Chairman Jusuf Kalla on Friday, just a week before Golkar's national congress in Pekanbaru, Riau, on Oct. 4-7.
The draft of the new statute says members of executive board of the party or its mass organizations were allowed to run for the party's chairmanship.
"With such criteria, Aburizal, who is currently a member of the Golkar's advisory board, will be eligible for the contest," Poempida Hidayatulloh, the party's deputy treasurer, told reporters after the meeting.
The party's existing statute says aspiring chairmen must have held positions on the party's executive board, one of its regional chapters or with a Golkar-affiliated organization for at least five years. The party's advisory board's members were not fit to contest the chairmanship.
The rules, however, were "twisted" at Friday's meeting, where proposals, submitted by steering committee that was tasked with formulating rules and drafting statutes to be agreed in the congress, were discussed. The committee was led by Syamsul Muarif, who was deemed to be an Aburizal supporter.
Poempida said that the fate of chairman hopeful Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former president Soeharto, remained unclear. "The verification team is still searching for data on whether Tommy ever held a leadership post in Golkar."
The steering committee did not make changes on the 30 percent of minimum supports to allow candidates to race for the party's top seat. The requirement would make difficult for legislator Yuddy Chrisnandi to join the chairmanship contest.
Meanwhile, media magnate Surya Paloh on Friday continued to reap support for the candidates for the party's top seat from Golkar's branches in South Sulawesi.
In his campaign, Surya, the party's chief of patrons, vowed that if elected, he would put priority in reorganizing Golkar in the years ahead instead of joining upcoming administration.
"Reorganizing Golkar is my most urgent agenda right now as we all know that Golkar is in the middle of its declining period. If we are not doing something to save the party then it will vanish immediately," Surya told thousands of Golkar members in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar.
He said a major replacement program within the party's top officials was part of his priority.
He added it was the right time for the new blood to fill many important positions in the party. "I would need many young yet talented cadres and professionals from outside the party to rebuild the party."
A Golkar-affiliated business group, known as Kosgoro, kicked off its national caucus on Friday to determine its final stance for the congress in Pekanbaru.
The group's chairman, Agung Laksono, who is also one of Golkar's deputy chairmen, said the meeting was aimed at determining the group's final stance concerning upcoming Golkar congress.
"A chairman will play a vital role in helping Golkar to regain its old glory. Therefore, he must fulfill a number of criteria," Agung said.
"For example, he must be willing to fully concentrate on his job and he must also record an impressive accomplishment whether in one of the party's mass organizations or professional organizations." Agung did not specify any names during his speech, but he acknowledged that he favored Aburizal to win the chairmanship during a later interview with reporters. (hdt)
Andi Hajramurni contributed to this article from Makassar.]