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Aburizal orders takeover of Golkar headquarters

As the reconciliation process between the two camps vying for leadership of the Golkar Party drags on, the camp led by Aburizal Bakrie has announced a plan to take over the party headquarters in Slipi, West Jakarta

Hans Nicholas Jong (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, June 15, 2015

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Aburizal orders takeover of Golkar headquarters

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s the reconciliation process between the two camps vying for leadership of the Golkar Party drags on, the camp led by Aburizal Bakrie has announced a plan to take over the party headquarters in Slipi, West
Jakarta.

The plan is part of a series of recommendations made in a national leaders'€™ meeting in Jakarta over the weekend, which was held to mark a return to the leadership established in the 2009 Riau national
congress.

A recent court order from the North Jakarta District Court mandated the return of leadership to the Riau committee, in which Aburizal was party chairman, as a temporary arrangement pending the final verdict from the Supreme Court, which will rule on the party chairmanship.

'€œThe meeting has recommended taking over the party headquarters,'€ said Samsuddin Mandja, while announcing the meeting'€™s results on Saturday.

The takeover may mean another cue for confrontation with the rival camp led by Agung Laksono that has been occupying the headquarters since early this year.

Prior to the meeting, Aburizal sent a letter to the National Police, requesting it ban Agung'€™s camp from operating, on Friday.

'€œThis is what we call ironic. It is they [Aburizal'€™s camp] who do not respect the initiative of [Vice President Jusuf Kalla] for islah [reconciliation],'€ Agung faction head Ace Hasan Syazily said on Saturday.

Golkar is on the brink of missing out on participation in 269 local elections in December as the two camps continue to engage in a legal battles to win formal leadership recognition.

Agung, whose leadership was recognized by the Law and Human Rights Ministry, has been pressed to concede following several court verdicts in favor of Aburizal.

The Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) has revoked the ministerial decree recognizing Agung'€™s leadership and the ministry and Agung are currently appealing the case with the Supreme
Court.

At the request of Aburizal'€™s camp, the North Jakarta court issued a provisional court order awarding the party leadership to Aburizal until the Supreme Court issued a legal and binding decision on Agung'€™s appeal against the PTUN verdict.

Vice President Kalla, a former Golkar chairman, mediated between the two factions last month, resulting in the formation of a joint committee to select and manage candidatures for the elections.

The settlement, however, has yet to rescue Golkar from elimination as the General Elections Commission (KPU) still requires every political party to have one central executive board committee to endorse candidates for the upcoming local election.

As the deadline for candidate registration nears, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly has suggested that the camps set up a temporary central executive board to sign off documents for the
elections.

The Agung camp is still adamant about compromise and still insists that it is the authorized Golkar committee.

As the Supreme Court has yet to give a verdict on the ministerial decree, Ace said Aburizal has no right to claim leadership.

He also believed that the police would not accept the request made by Aburizal.

'€œI am sure the National Police chief understands laws and regulations,'€ he said.

Kalla has also suggested that both factions temporarily abandon the headquarters to avoid more conflicts, but Aburizal said that the suggestion did not make any sense.

'€œIt'€™s not logical and not rational,'€ he said during the Saturday meeting.

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