G

olkar Party chairman Aburizal “Ical” Bakrie may not find it easy to compete in the 2014 presidential elections amid the financial woes which have beset his business empire in the past few years.

Once firmly in the top-tier in the list of richest Indonesians, Forbes magazine put Aburizal in 30th place in its recent 2011 richest Indonesians list, with his wealth estimated to have dwindled by 57 percent from US$2.1 billion last year to $890 million.

Earlier this month, Bakrie and Brothers group sold its 23.8 percent stake in London-listed Bumi Plc. to another coal company, PT Borneo Lumbung Energi & Metal, reportedly to avoid defaulting on its piling debt.

The company had previously announced a plan to carry out a so-called “quasi reorganization” to revalue its debts and assets after the company recorded a deficit of Rp 27.7 trillion ($3.02 billion) between 2008 and 2010 from its business units and partnerships.

Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political observer with the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), said on Thursday that Aburizal’s business woes could significantly affect the electability of both Golkar and Ical in the 2014 elections, given that a run for president needed at least Rp 10 trillion to finance a meaningful campaign nationwide.

“The trillion rupiah loss suffered by Bakrie and Brothers was a massive blow [for Golkar and Ical] in the 2014 general elections but especially for Ical in his presidential bid.”

As the Constitution bars President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono from running for a third term, Aburizal is seen as one of the strongest contenders in 2014 along with Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party patron Prabowo Subianto and former finance minister Sri Mul-yani, according to several surveys.

The country’s largest party, the Democratic Party, has yet to officially announce its presidential candidate, even though the names of several potential figures have been circulating, including the President’s in-law and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo. Golkar is also reportedly eying Pramono as Aburizal’s running mate.

Aburizal has been touring several Asian countries to meet with business and political leaders, a move believed to be part of his strategy to fuel his presidential bid.

Aburizal denied that his trips had anything to do with his presidential bid, claiming that it was business as he and Thailand’s leaders had discussed the possibility of Thai investment in the oil and gas sector.

To foreign parties, Aburizal is known as a businessman who often uses his political clout to support his business interests. A 2007 classified diplomatic cable, released by WikiLeaks and published by Reuters, quoted Cameron Hume, a former US ambassador to Indonesia, as saying that “in the mining sector, Cabinet minister Aburizal Bakrie has been most successful in using nationalism for his private personal gain”.

Aburizal, who resigned from the Bakrie and Brothers group in 2004 when he became Coordinating Minister of People’s Welfare in Yudhoyono’s administration, declined to comment on the selling of Bakrie and Brothers’ stake in Bumi. “I don’t deal with business matters anymore,” he said.

Although Aburizal has distanced himself from Bakrie and Brothers, Burhanuddin argues that Aburizal’s claims might be rhetorical. “The businesses of Bakrie and Brothers are highly dependent on politics. Even if Ical is not directly involved in day-to-day operations, there is no doubt that Ical is an important political factor for the Bakrie and Brothers group,” Burhanuddin said. (sat)