Jakarta – Holding on to the belief that the majority of Indonesian people long for the calm and order of the Soeharto era, members of the former strongman's family appear to have found the confidence to make a political comeback.
Fully aware that the political landscape has changed, some of them have joined the democratic process by setting up political parties.
There are now at least three political parties that could be deemed as representatives of the Cendana family, the name given to the Soeharto clan after a street that runs through a neighborhood in Menteng where Soeharto kept his extended family.
One of the political parties now back from obscurity, the National Republic (Nasrep) is now on the verge of being given the go-ahead by the General Election Commission (KPU) to join the 2014 legislative election.
Last week, a factual verification process by the KPU found that the party's national organization has been deemed eligible to participate in the 2014 elections. The final result, however, is still pending the factual verification result at the provincial and local levels.
Nasrep is the political party of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, Soeharto's youngest son. Party chairman Jus Usman Sumanegara believes that the Nasrep Party has what it takes to bring back the glory days of Soeharto.
Jus said that 14 years after the Reform era begun, the country was still unable to make significant progress. He said that the country's general condition was better under Soeharto's leadership.
Jus is cautiously optimistic about his party's chance of success. "We plan to accelerate the country's progress if we get enough votes in the 2014 elections," Jus said.
Jus said that the party would offer Soeharto's recipe for success by incorporating his teachings and thoughts. He believes that the general population is longing for the political and economic stability the country had when it was led by the former president.
Nasrep has not made it official, but it is almost certain that it would nominate Tommy as the party's presidential candidate in 2014.
"People at the grassroots level want Tommy to run in 2014. They believe that he is reminiscent of his late father. Many of our party's members also want him to be a presidential candidate," Usman said.
Many voters, however, will not easily forget Tommy's notoriety. He is the mastermind behind the murder of Supreme Court justice Syafiudin Kartasasmita.
In July 2002, Tommy was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty to hiring two hit men to kill Syafiudin, who had convicted him in a graft case. He was released from prison in 2006 after receiving a five-year sentence reduction.
In a web survey fielded by the political party's website, nasrep.or.id, Tommy sits at the top of the list with 70 percent of vote, above other politicians such as his former in-law Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto, former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie.
If he runs for president,Tommy will follow the footsteps of his sister, Siti Hardiyanti Rukamana, or popularly known as Mbak Tutut. In 2004, she was nominated by the political party she founded, the Nation Functionary Concern Party (PKPB) as a presidential candidate. She later dropped out of the race with no apparent reason.
Currently, Mbak Tutut only serves as one of the party's members, according to PKPB secretary-general Maj. Gen. (ret) Hartarto Sastrosoenarto.
PKPB is a party that was formed and inspired by Soeharto's order. "Pak Harto ordered us to continue the good in him and discard the bad," Hartarto said, adding that the party, however, is not linked to the Cendana family.
Like Nasrep, the PKPB relies on Soeharto loyalists. The party does not have a presidential election survey of its own. Its website, www.pkpb.net, is no longer running.
Analyst said that parties linked to the Soeharto family would unlikely have a future. "Some may long for the New Order era. But, it does not reflect the general feeling of Indonesians," said Yunarto Wijaya, a political analyst with Charta Politica.