Ezra Sihite – In the wake of rumors of mounting efforts to unseat the government, the country's second-largest political party, Golkar, vowed loyalty on Monday. "We are in support of the government," Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie said at the House of Representatives.

Senior Democratic Party members Djoko Suyanto and Ramadhan Pohan recently spoke about indications from political rivals that they were aiming to threaten the government.

Aburizal, whose party is a member of the ruling coalition, said he had "no knowledge" of any effort to undermine the government. He said that as a member of the coalition, Golkar would continue to stand behind the government until its term expired.

Saleh Husin, the secretary of the legislative faction of the opposition People's Conscience Party (Hanura), said on Monday that his party was not taking seriously the recent accusation made by Ramadhan.

Ramadhan has accused Hanura founder Gen. (ret.) Wiranto of planting a Hanura executive, prominent lawyer Elza Syarief, as a member of the defense counsel of graft defendant Muhammad Nazaruddin, a former treasurer of the Democrats. Ramadhan claimed Elza was there to help undermine the image of the Democrats by pushing for Nazaruddin to name Democrats allegedly implicated in grafts cases.

"This means nothing, Ramadhan is a nobody," Saleh said, condemning the Democrat's statement as "inaccurate." Hanura chairman Akbar Faisal also attacked Ramadhan's accusation, saying the Democrat appeared to have not learned from his own experience.

Aburizal recently accused Ramadhan of libel after he said the Golkar chairman was the part-owner of a mining company currently in dispute with local residents in Bima on Lombok.

"He should have learned from the case in which a suit was threatened by Mr. Aburizal Bakrie following his negligent public statement," Akbar said. "I am saddened by the existence of such politicians."

Akbar said Ramadhan clearly did not understand the history of relations between Wiranto and Yudhoyono, once his underling. "I am certain that SBY does not condone Ramadhan's methods and maneuvers," he said.

Meanwhile, executives of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which is also part of the governing coalition, made no effort on Monday to respond to a broadside attack by Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam on Sunday.

Dipo accused the PKS of being a "traitor" because it rejected a government plan to raise fuel prices by a third in a bid to alleviate the burden of subsidies on the state budget.

Other members of the six-party ruling coalition include the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).