T

he ongoing dispute between two factions of the Golkar Party endures as faction leader Aburizal Bakrie is rejecting a compromise brokered by the party'€™s internal dispute settlement committee
(mahkamah partai).

Aburizal, whose lawsuit against another faction leader, Agung Laksono, has been processed at the West Jakarta Court, said that it was too late to settle the dispute through the committee as the court started its first hearing on Dec. 23.

'€œThere will be no [internal dispute settlement]. As for the party'€™s reconciliation, let'€™s wait for the court'€™s decision on March 8,'€ he said on Sunday as quoted by tempo.co.

Aburizal refused the Agung camp'€™s proposal for an internal settlement, which the faction claims came from the decision of a court in Central Jakarta, where Agung had filed a lawsuit against Aburizal'€™s faction.

Golkar, the largest political party in the opposition Red-and-White Coalition, has been struggling with internal conflicts since a breakaway faction of the party appointed former deputy chairman Agung as its own party leader in a national congress in Ancol, North Jakarta.

Agung, who has pledged to lead Golkar to join the ruling coalition, has successfully gathered support from fellow senior Golkar politicians who strongly criticized the iron-fisted leadership of chairman Aburizal Bakrie, who secured reelection in a party national congress that was held earlier in Bali.

On Dec. 8, both factions submitted documents detailing the party'€™s leadership changes made at their respective congresses in order to gain formal recognition from the government.

As a consequence of its neutral stance, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly said the government would only recognize Aburizal'€™s leadership since it was established during Golkar'€™s national congress in 2009.

Attempts at reconciliation have been fruitless, resulting in both factions filing lawsuits against each other. The Central Jakarta Court decided to reject Agung'€™s lawsuit since the case was already being tried at the West Jakarta Court.

Representatives of both factions had also discussed the possibility of settling the dispute through the party'€™s dispute committee, but the option was later annulled since a majority on the dispute committee were supporters of Aburizal.

The 2011 Law on Political Parties stipulates that internal disputes, including those over membership dismissal, abuse of authority and party leadership, must be first settled by the party'€™s internal dispute committee within 60 days.

In a case of deadlock, the parties in dispute can push for a legal settlement in a local court and later go to the Supreme Court for a final appeal.

A member of Agung'€™s camp, Leo Nababan, said that the internal dispute committee would be the better way instead of a court settlement.

'€œMahkamah is the highest internal tribunal in a party,'€ he said.