Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Mid-ranking Golkar Party members are increasingly nervous about presidential candidate Aburizal Bakrie's low popularity among voters and plan to raise his nomination as a topic of discussion at a senior party officials meeting in October, a Golkar lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Yorrys Raweyai, head of the party's central executive board, said many central and regional Golkar officials were concerned about Aburizal's weak performance in recent polls.

"Golkar has to conduct a serious evaluation on Bang Ical's [Aburizal Bakrie's] electability," said Yorrys, who added that voters would punish the party if it did not respond to their concerns.

Yorrys said he agreed with a recent statement by Akbar Tandjung, the chief of the party's board of advisors, who said Aburizal was less popular than the party as a whole. "Akbar has to be appreciated and taken seriously. Akbar knows Golkar best," Yorrys said.

He added that there were growing divisions in his party on the candidacy.

"Golkar is good externally, but internally it is not solid and there are strong divisions," he said.

A survey published in Kompas on Monday put public support for Aburizal at 9 percent, up from 6 percent in December. Leading the poll was Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, who polled 33 percent, nearly double his December result.

A May survey by the Center for Strategic and International Studies put Golkar's popularity at 13.2 percent, eclipsing the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on 12.7 percent at the top of the rankings.

Akbar last week told reporters the party would evaluate Aburizal's nomination internally.

"The evaluation will be published at the right time. This evaluation will be made the basis of our consideration and discussion with internal entities of Golkar," Akbar said in Jakarta on Friday.

According to Akbar, regional party members have complained about Aburizal's leadership, saying he is failing to fulfill his promises to the party.

In his successful campaign to be party chair, Aburizal promised endowment funds to regional party cadres, but Akbar said the implementation of this plan fell short of expectations.

Also identified by Akbar as a concern was the involvement of Lapindo Brantas, a company led by Aburizal, in a 2006 mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java. "Lapindo also plays a role in his electability," Akbar said.

But Firman Subagyo, the chief of the Golkar central executive board, said his party has yet to announce the agenda for the October meeting of party leaders, adding that no-one has formally suggested an evaluation of Aburizal's candidacy be discussed.

Firman conceded that outsiders might perceive the party as divided, but said the party leadership was sensitive to the attitudes of party members.

He said it would be difficult to re-evaluate Aburizal's candidacy because his nomination took place at a leaders meeting that included regional leaders. "The steps should be clear and in line with the rules," Firman said.

Golkar deputy secretary general Nurul Arifin denied Akbar intended to evaluate Aburizal's presidential candidacy. "Maybe he was misinterpreted by the media," Nurul said.

Tantowi Yahya, deputy secretary general of the party's central executive board, conceded that senior party members had pockets of support in the organization.

"Political parties consist of factions. Every senior official has his or her own loyalists, that is the normal dynamics," Tantowi said, as quoted by Detik.com. Tantowi said the party remained unified, despite the latest tensions.

"What's important is that Golkar has never been divided in responding to an issue. Such internal dynamics [conflict] are not only found in Golkar," he said. "What's important is how the general chairman is able to manage the factions to... develop the party."

Tantowi said he was confident that Aburizal's popularity would rise. "We have not launched all of our strategies, there are still many primary programs that the public do not know," he said on Tuesday.

"This will be every Golkar legislative candidates' task: Aside from selling their visions, [they will have to] also sell Aburizal's visions."