Armando Siahaan – A top Golkar Party official has denied that a possible tie-up with a conservative Muslim group was aimed at diversifying the party's voter base in light of a perceived threat from the fledgling National Democrats social organization.
Speculation about an alliance with the Indonesian Muslim Brotherhood (Parmusi) emerged after Thursday's meeting between Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie and his Parmusi counterpart, Bachtiar Chamsyah.
"If Parmusi wants to join Golkar, we welcome it with open arms," Aburizal said, as quoted by Antara. He added that his party was still in talks with the group, which actually forms one of the largest factions within the conservative United Development Party (PPP).
The meeting came amid signs of panic from the Golkar ranks about a possible challenge posed by the National Democrats, which has hinted at its ambitions to mobilize as a political party in time to contest the 2014 elections.
On Wednesday, Golkar secretary general Idrus Marham called on all party members to distance themselves from the group, which was founded by media magnate and former Golkar heavyweight Surya Paloh shortly after his loss last year to Aburizal for the chairmanship of the party.
But on Friday, Nurul Arifin, Golkar's deputy secretary general, said the perceived alliance with Parmusi was not an effort to shore up support ahead of a potential onslaught from the National Democrats, with whom it would share a common voter base.
"[Engaging with Parmusi] is linked to the discourse on increasing the legislative threshold," Nurul said. "It has nothing to do [with the National Democrats]."
She added most major parties traditionally surrounded themselves with a rainbow coalition of smaller fringe political groups, with the latter benefiting from the increased exposure.
Parmusi's Bachtiar said the meeting with Aburizal came about because both leaders shared common ideas about improving public welfare. He played down talk that an alliance was imminent.
"We can't rush things," he said. "We need to study the idea first. This meeting was just an introductory one, which is common in politics."
Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, executive board head of the PPP, said on Friday that it was unlikely that Parmusi would leave the party to join Golkar, a secular-nationalist party. "That's impossible," he said. "Parmusi is one of the founding institutions of the PPP, one of its main support pillars."
He added both were mutually reliant on the another – with the PPP relying on Parmusi to secure grassroots votes, and Parmusi gaining access to the national political stage through the PPP.
Lukman also denied speculation that Bachtiar was leading a Parmusi mutiny over disagreements with the PPP leadership.
Bachtiar has been named a suspect for embezzling funds from the import of livestock during his stint as social affairs minister, and is alleged to be involved in a second graft scandal centering around the procurement of clothes.
He has been vocal about what he calls the PPP's lack of legal advocacy on his behalf during investigations into him.
[Additional reporting by Antara.]