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Disagreement on opposition role blocks Golkar reconciliation
Show of unity: Golkar politicians representing two conflicting factions (from left to right) Yorrys Raweyai, MS Hidayat, Priyo Budi Santoso and Sharif Cicip Sutardjo pose for photographers before meeting on Thursday at party headquarters in Jakarta
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span class="inline inline-center">Show of unity: Golkar politicians representing two conflicting factions (from left to right) Yorrys Raweyai, MS Hidayat, Priyo Budi Santoso and Sharif Cicip Sutardjo pose for photographers before meeting on Thursday at party headquarters in Jakarta. JP/DON
The reconciliation process to unite the divided Golkar Party is seeing early signals of deadlock as the conflicting groups insist on their different stances regarding the fate of the party in the opposition Red-and-White Coalition, which Golkar currently leads.
Negotiators representing the two competing leaderships within the political party met again on Thursday to discuss on solutions to end the ongoing fight that has resulted from attempts to silence opposition voices challenging the leadership of chairman Aburizal Bakrie; and cited debate over Golkar's involvement in the opposition as 'the crucial point blocking an agreement'.
Former Industry Minister MS Hidayat, one of the negotiators representing the Aburizal group, explained that the closed-door peace talks at Golkar's headquarters in West Jakarta on Thursday had to put aside the discussion on the party's membership in the Red-and-White Coalition to allow 'more fruitful results' than the first meeting last month.
However, he highlighted that Golkar's role in the opposition coalition, which nominated presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto of the Gerindra Party and running-mate Hatta Rajasa of the National Mandate Party (PAN), was 'part of Golkar's commitment'.
'The most important discussion is more about Golkar's role as a partner to the government [regardless of its political stance in the coalition]. We want to be the government's partner in terms of our support for all populist programs and critics of programs deemed disadvantageous to the people,' Hidayat told the press on the sidelines of the meeting.
Contrary to Hidayat, negotiators from counter-group led by its chairman Agung Laksono, a former Coordinating People's Welfare minister, reiterated a demand to leave the Red-and-White Coalition to support President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's administration as one of the conditions for reconciliation.
Yorrys Raweyai told the press after the meeting,' We have no business with KMP [Red-and-White Coalition]. They [Aburizal's group] still want to be part of it, but we don't.'
Hours before the reconciliation talks took place, Agung, who was seen at the party's headquarters, had affirmed that 'Golkar's withdrawal from the KMP is a must'.
'We do not need any coalitions after the election,' Agung said, adding that he had also personally informed Jokowi about his group's decision on the matter.
Contributing the largest seats for the Red-and-White Coalition's 314 seats at the House of Representatives, Golkar, with its total 91 House seats held a significant role in determining the fate of the coalition as well as its political stances regarding the House's programs in the future.
Besides the party's official membership in the opposition coalition, an earlier peace talk had outlined issues that would base the reconciliation process including, among others, Golkar's stance to uphold the direct elections, which the party had earlier rejected, and to agree on other technicalities ahead of the legislative election in 2019 such as the implementation of an open and proportional system.
Negotiators claimed that both parties have achieved agreement on such technicalities and were scheduled to meet again next week to press the discussion on 'more crucial issue' related to the plan to jump to the government's ship.
In addition to Golkar, PAN is also preparing for potential rift due to the party's participation in the Red-and-White Coalition.
PAN is set to hold a national congress to select new chairman in March, an event that members have referred as a door to unlock rising aspirations to leave the coalition as the race will contest two powerful party figures, incumbent chairman Hatta and Zulkifli Hasan, a current People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
In order to avoid the party being split like Golkar, founder Amien Rais had said that he would bring the two hopefuls in a talk that would offer win-win solution to allow the installment of Zulkifli as a new chairman while Hatta the head of the party's advisory assembly; a compromise that reportedly had been agreed by related parties earlier.
