Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Beginning on Tuesday, the Democratic Party is holding a two-day meeting with the participation of all local party leaders to seek a solution to what they deem as the deterioration of the party's image due to reports of rampant corruption.
On Tuesday evening, the local party leaders held a meeting with the party's patron, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at his private residence in Cikeas, Bogor, West Java.
Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum and members of the central board are expected to appear at a session on Wednesday, due to be held at a hotel in downtown Jakarta.
"What has happened to several of our members, including Angie and Anas, really troubles us. Even though these individuals are responsible for their conduct, it's obvious that they are taking the party's image down with them. Therefore, we need to clean up our image and regain public trust," Andi Saiman, one of the Democratic Party's founding members, said, referring to graft convict Angelina Sondakh and Anas.
Angelina is currently being detained for her alleged role in the bribery scandal centering on the SEA Games' athletes' village construction project in South Sumatra.
The party's former treasurer, Muhammad Nazaruddin, who was sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison for accepting bribes of Rp 4.6 billion (US$487,600) linked to the athletes' village, implicated Anas in a scandal surrounding the construction of a sports facility worth Rp 1.52 trillion in Hambalang, West Java. The scandal has also implicated another of the party's senior members, Andi Mallarangeng, the youth and sports minister.
Speculation is rife that the two-day meeting is aimed at deciding the fates of both Anas and Andi. A number of Democratic Party politicians have denied such speculation, however, saying that the meeting was a regular consolidation meeting.
"We are gathering various elements in the party to reflect on what has been happening during the last eight months. It is, of course, deeply troubling when the public associates the party with bribery. We just want to remind party members to stay honest and be responsible in politics," Democratic Party politician Sutan Bathoegana said.