Newly appointed PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo said Friday party members were ready to enforce a political manifesto and recommendations resulting from the congress, particularly upholding its stance as opposition.

“The congress’s mandate underlines our pledge to maintain our role as a political force that exercises checks and balances on the government,” Tjahjo said.

Rounding up the three-day congress, participants elected Megawati for the third straight five-year term Thursday. Later that day, Megawati chose her aides, including Tjahjo, the chairman of the PDI-P at the House of Representatives.

Tjahjo, a seasoned politician, said the party’s political manifesto and policy Megawati had outlined would bind party members nationwide. He added the party’s members would have to remain critical of the government either through legislative councils or civil society groups.

Megawati said in her opening speech the PDI-P would not align with the ruling coalition under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Observers, however, warn that the public would view the PDI-P’s opposition status as redundant if it failed to make a difference.

“An opposition force requires a strong ideology with programs that are significantly different
from those of the government. The PDI-P should promote pro-nationalization in opposition to the government’s pro-privatization policy, for example,” said researcher Fadjroel Rachman.

He said Megawati’s speech demonstrated her commitment to building a strong opposition party, but the composition of the party’s new board of executives proved otherwise.

“The appointment of Tjahjo despite his implication in a bribery case in the election of the Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor is an issue,” Fadjroel said.

He added another major challenge facing the PDI-P was its “feudalistic culture”.

Burhanuddin Muhtadi of the Indonesian Survey Institute said an opposition party would fail to woo public support if the government satisfied people through its programs as Yudhoyono had proved in the 2009 elections.

He said as the opposition, the PDI-P could increase its electability rate if it could promote people who women endorsed, people in regions outside Java and the urban population.

“Our exit poll last year revealed that Megawati failed to impress swing voters from those three groups,” Muhtadi said.

Speculation has been rife that Tjahjo’s appointment will pave the way for the PDI-P’s alignment with the ruling coalition, due to his close ties with the party’s influential figure Taufik Kiemas, Megawati’s husband. Prior to the party’s congress, Taufik persuaded his party to form an ideological coalition with Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party.

Mohammad Qodari of the Indo Barometer think tank said, however, the PDI-P’s move to join the ruling coalition would result from the unpredictable political momentum, rather than because of Tjahjo’s role.

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