Yuli Tri Suwarni and Bagus BT Saragih, Bandung/Jakarta – At a time when the Democratic Party's central leadership is being bombarded with the major Wisma Atlet corruption scandal, party members in West Java are involved in an internal conflict regarding money politics ahead of the regional leadership board election and upcoming regional congress.
The allegations have surfaced amid the Democratic Party's ethics council beginning an investigation into alleged massive vote-buying by candidates during the party's last chairmanship election. The investigation may result in the dismissal of graft-implicated party chairman Anas Urbaningrum.
West Java Regional executive board (DPD) head Iwan Sulandjana said he had received reports from district level leadership boards in Garut, Ciamis and Bogor of a number of support letters and money received from West Java legislative councilors of the Democrat Party.
"The money politics issue is related to the support to elect the West Java Democratic Party leader. This is against what has been expressed by the Democratic Party board of trustees chairman, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who recently instructed every party member not to resort to actions that violated party ethics," Iwan said in Bandung on Monday.
The West Java Democratic Party regional congress is scheduled to be held in May this year the latest.
Iwan, a retired major general and former chief of the Siliwangi Military Command, has claimed that Yudhoyono gave his blessing to continue leading the party in West Java as the biggest contributor to the Democrats' victory in the 2009 elections.
Alongside West Java Legislative Council Democratic Party faction leader Awing Asmawi, Iwan provided evidence of alleged money politics launched by West Java Legislative Council speaker Irfan Suryanegara, who has long been at odds with party leaders. Party executives at the district branches were allegedly asked to support Irfan as provincial party leader, with letters of support being addressed to the Democratic Party central executive board head in Jakarta.
"Based on information received from Garut branch leaders, they were gathered in one place and asked to sign the letter of support. They were then given cash envelopes by Acen Roni. Isn't this an indication of money politics? Similar incidents also took place in Bogor and Ciamis, carried out by members of the West Java Democratic Party faction," said Iwan.
A branch leader in Pamarican, Ciamis, Holidin, said they gathered in a hotel together with 15 other Democratic Party branch leaders in Ciamis on Saturday. They were asked to support Irfan, but only five of them were willing. "I signed and received Rp 100,000 [US$11]," said Holidin.
Meanwhile, newly installed ethics council secretary TB Silalahi said a number of party members from regional branches had been summoned to testify before council members as to whether they had accepted bribes during the election held in Bandung, West Java, in 2010.
"We have learned from media reports that some party members in the regions made public admissions that they had accepted bribes. Of course we have to respond with an internal investigation," Silalahi said on Sunday.