Nurul Fitri Ramadhani – The country's antigraft agency has lambasted the Golkar Party's policy that imposes a Rp 1 billion (US$76,000) registration fee for each candidate contesting the party's upcoming chairmanship elections. The agency claims it is clearly money politics.
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif said on Tuesday he hoped Golkar would dismiss the requirement.
"Never have I heard the registration fee for chairmanship candidates of a political party costing billions of rupiah. Candidates should only be required to contribute their ideas for their party's improvement," Laode said.
The party lacking funds for its extraordinary national congress (munaslub), where it is set to elect a new chairman, is slated as the reason the steering committee of the congress has implemented the compulsory fee for prospective candidates. Moreover, each candidate will also have to bear additional costs after registering, with the amount based on the candidates' agreement.
Another KPK deputy chairman, Saut Situmorang, said he understood how the party wanted to raise funds to ensure the congress runs well. He, however, warned the imposed candidacy fee should remain transparent as such a money-collecting procedure was prone to "underhanded deals".
Head of the steering committee, Nurdin Halid, meanwhile, had instructed the committee's ethics division to immediately consult with the KPK regarding the policy and pledges to cancel it if the antigraft body deems it a form of gratuity.
However, consultation has yet to occur. In response to Laode's statement, steering committee member Andi Sinulingga said the KPK should comment with facts, not opinion.
"If the KPK sees it [the candidacy fee] as violating the law, they should immediately send an official letter to Golkar explaining which points are in violation," Andi said.
Golkar ethics division deputy head Lawrence Siburian said he had arranged consultation with the KPK chairman. "We will follow whatever the KPK advises us," Lawrence said.
Ahead of the congress, Golkar's chairmanship race also shows the government's influence over the party, as the steering committee has scheduled the congress to accommodate President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's availability. The three-day congress will take place in Nusa Dua, Bali, on May 15, eight days earlier than the previously set date.
Nurdin said the committee had changed the schedule four times, after coordinating with the Palace, to ensure the President was available to attend. After all, the party will not let Jokowi be absent for the congress' opening, as the President is the symbol of political legitimacy.
"We want the president to open the congress, because Golkar was born to support the government. It's us that should follow his schedule, not vice versa," Nurdin said.
As the deadline draws closer, the committee has decided to limit the zones for candidates' campaign trips. The first zone will be in Medan, North Sumatra, while the second will be in Surabaya, East Java, to cover DPD members across Java. The trip will end in Makassar, South Sulawesi, which will cover members from Sulawesi, Kalimantan and Papua.
The committee has opened a two-day registration period for chairman candidates from Tuesday, with lawmaker Aziz Syamsuddin being the first candidate to register.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/05/04/fee-golkar-chairmanship-race-money-politics-KPK.html