Y

oung Golkar Party politicians have vowed to support the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle'€™s (PDI-P) presidential ticket of Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and Jusuf Kalla despite threats of dismissal.

Earlier this week, scores of young Golkar politicians publicly declared their support for Jokowi, opposing the mandate of party chairman Aburizal Bakrie to endorse the Gerindra Party'€™s Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa presidential ticket.

Golkar advisory council head Akbar Tandjung lashed out at the dissenting members and threatened to fire them.

'€œWe will first explain why Golkar supports Prabowo-Hatta. But if they still defy the party, we will act firmly. [The party] may fire them,'€ Akbar said on Wednesday.

In response to Akbar'€™s threat, Indra J. Piliang, from Golkar'€™s research and development division and a Jokowi supporter, suggested that instead of acting against the young politicians, the party should dismiss the elites who had endorsed Prabowo, as they were the ones who had violated the party line.

He pointed out that the party elites had not held a plenary meeting prior to the Golkar executive meeting last week.

'€œThey violated the internal rules. How there was an executive meeting without a plenary meeting first? They must resign from Golkar,'€ Indra said on Thursday.

Indra suggested that Aburizal should be among those who must resign.

He said that the executive meeting decided that Aburizal be given the mandate to be either a presidential or vice presidential candidate but had not granted him control over the party'€™s coalition decision.

Indra suggested that, by declaring the party'€™s support for Prabowo, Aburizal had violated the executive meeting'€™s decision.

Dismayed by Aburizal'€™s decision, Indra and some Golkar politicians shifted their support to Jokowi-Kalla, considering that Kalla, as a former Golkar chairman, could represent their aspirations.

As the rift intensified, members of the three major organizations that helped establish Golkar '€” Musyawarah Kekeluargaan Gotong Royong (MKGR), Sentral Organisasi Karyawan Swadiri Indonesia (SOKSI), and Kesatuan Organisasi Serbaguna Gotong Royong (Kosgoro) '€” met on Wednesday and called on the party executives to not dismiss those that supported Jokowi.

'€œDivision [was] predicted, considering that Kalla is on Jokowi'€™s side. But, why have members with a differing opinion been threatened with dismissal?'€ Agung Laksono, Kosgoro chairman and Golkar deputy chairman, said, as quoted by Kompas daily.

Also at the meeting, Golkar senior politician and former industry minister, Fahmi Idris, pledged his support for Jokowi-Kalla.

'€œI supported Aburizal in the executive meeting. But, considering that Golkar endorsed Prabowo-Hatta, I am done with that. I support Kalla because it is a matter of choosing a figure and I know [Kalla'€™s] credentials,'€ Fahmi said.