Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Golkar Party leaders remained confident on Thursday that the newly-established National Democratic Party did not represent a threat, with a senior party figure saying that many of its members who had joined the new party had now returned to the fold.

Golkar secretary general Idrus Marham, said many had heeded the deadline set for wavering ex-members to return before sanctions would be meted out. "Especially those sitting as Golkar lawmakers, they have resigned as NasDem members," Idrus said, referring to the new party by its shortened name.

He added that, for Golkar, it had been a lesson in consistency and political honesty. "We need to discipline our members so that we can practice better politics based on ideology, not playing it safe with politics in our personal interests. "The country will not get ahead with political pragmatism," Idrus said.

Nurul Arifin, the party's deputy secretary general, said there were still several people whose party membership status remained unclear. A meeting scheduled for Thursday was due to discuss the issue and arrange a method for verifying membership.

It was possible the party would dismiss members found to be linked with NasDem, she said. "We still need to verify whether some lawmakers are truly with Golkar or not," Nurul said.

NasDem registered as a party earlier this year but was only formally launched last month. Initially it boasted several Golkar members in its ranks, largely through its loose affiliation with the social organization that spawned the party and carries a very similar name.

The organization is named National Democrats, and is commonly referred to in a similar shortened form, Nasdem. Nasdem is chaired by Surya Paloh, a media mogul and senior Golkar member who established it after losing the Golkar chairmanship to tycoon Aburizal Bakrie in 2009.

Several Golkar members are registered members of Nasdem, including Enggartiasto Lukita, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, Meutya Hafid, Jeffrie Geovanie and Syamsul Muarif. Golkar had earlier announced that Nasdem and NasDem were the same in their eyes.

Meanwhile, dozens of Golkar members in Bali announced their resignations from NasDem after being pushed by the party's national leadership board.

Dewa Ayu Sriwigunawati, spokeswoman of Golkar's Bali chapter, was quoted by Antara news agency as saying that several members had sent letters confirming their decision to leave NasDem and remain with Golkar.

One member, Ida Bagus Oka Gunastawa, she said, had not yet decided by the deadline. Oka heads organizational and membership affairs for Golkar's Bali chapter.

"We will follow the party decision and issue a letter to dismiss him from the party," she said. Meutia Hafid and Enggartiasto Lukita could not be reached for comment.