D

emocratic Party chief patron President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is relying on party chairman Anas Urbaningrum to unite the party until the 2014 general elections, and he will do whatever it takes to retain Anas in his post despite the graft allegations leveled against him, analysts say.

Syamsuddin Haris of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said Yudhoyono had no option but to back Anas’ leadership for the sake of the party’s future.

“Although there is apparent tension between Yudhoyono and Anas, the President has to support Anas as he is party chairman, the formal leader of the group. SBY has no other option because his close confidant, Andi Mallarangeng, has been named a suspect in the Hambalang scandal,” Syamsuddin said.

Yudhoyono, however, would only support Anas until the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) decided his fate, he added.

“SBY needs Anas to consolidate the party ahead of the 2014 elections and he will support Anas only while the KPK does not name him a suspect,” he added.

Syamsuddin warned of the increasingly apparent tension between Yudhoyono and Anas, with the latter trying to control the party’s local leadership. “This will make it hard for the party to finish even second in the 2014 general elections,” he said.

Other analysts have said that it would take substantial effort to wrest Anas from his post as he remained in strong control of the party.

“Anas remains powerful within the party. He is probably holding a trump card on corruption cases that may implicate other senior figures in the party,” said Hamdi Muluk, political analyst with the University of Indonesia (UI).

Anas and former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng have repeatedly been named by former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin as accepting bribery money from the budget for the Hambalang sports complex in West Java.

Nazaruddin accused Anas of accepting Rp 50 billion (US$5.18 million) to finance his bid for the party chairmanship in 2010, in which he ran against Andi.

Anas won the chairmanship even though Andi was backed by Yudhoyono’s son, Edhie Baskoro “Ibas” Yudhoyono. After his win, Anas shrewdly appointed Ibas as the party’s secretary-general.

Anas stated in March that he was ready to face a firing squad or be hanged at the National Monument if he was found guilty of corruption.

According to a recent survey by the NGO, Founding Fathers House, Anas was considered the country’s most-loathed politician of 2012 as his name appeared almost daily in national newspapers alongside graft allegations.

Many have suggested that Yudhoyono could at least suspend Anas from the party chairmanship to reassure the public about the party’s commitment to fighting corruption.

Hamdi, however, said that Yudhoyono was reluctant to do that as he was concerned about Anas going rogue.

“SBY is now in a difficult position. He is worried that Anas will launch an attack against him.”