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burizal Bakrie left government celebrations in suspense on Monday night, refraining from declaring his party'€™s full support for it.

In his speech at the closing of the party'€™s national leadership meeting (Rapimnas), the businessman-cum-politician who has clung to the party chairmanship for over six years, said that the party would formally declare its allegiance to the government in its upcoming extraordinary national congress (Mubaslub).

'€œWe declared that we would oppose the government at the last national congress [in Bali], so it takes another national congress to change [our political allegiance],'€ he said.

Party executives from regional chapters declared support for President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo, but their pledges were led by senior member Yorrys Raweyai, instead of Aburizal.

Aburizal admitted that as of Monday, many party executives from regional chapters were still reluctant to agree with the Mubaslub, but said that he would still try to run the congress as a token of his commitment to Vice President Jusuf Kalla and the leader of the other Golkar camp, Agung Laksono.

Following defeat in the 2014 presidential election, incumbent party chairman Aburizal held a national congress in Bali in December, where he raised chairmanship requirements, making only himself eligible for the position. The congress finally unanimously granted him a second term as party chairman.

His iron-fist approach to securing the chairmanship led to resistance among the party elite, led by Agung.

The splinter group later held another national congress in Jakarta that unanimously elected Agung as party chairman.

Agung'€™s camp later gained recognition from the Law and Human Rights Ministry, which issued a decree recognizing his central executive board committee line-up.

Both rival camps have since been involved in battles to have their leadership of the country'€™s oldest political party recognized.

The Supreme Court finally revoked the ministerial decree and returned the party leadership to Aburizal, the party chairman before the internal dispute erupted.

The verdict, however, did not automatically acknowledge Aburizal'€™s committee as the ministry refused to issue a new decree listing the new central executive board line-up that Aburizal formed at the Bali congress.

Kalla was cought off guard by Aburizal'€™s statements, since the agenda at the closing of the Rapimnas included the party'€™s full endorsement of the government. Agung also did not attend the closing ceremony. Especially after Aburizal reaffirmed the party'€™s commitment to support the government to amend the Constitution.

The government, along with the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has been seeking to amend the Constitution to give greater authority to the People'€™s Representatives Council (MPR) for deciding on state policy guidelines (GBHN).

Speaking after Aburizal, Kalla quipped that Aburizal was dragging out the party'€™s support for the government since he was seeking the '€œtemporary recognition'€ of a ministerial decree to recognize his central executive board line-up.

'€œSince [Aburizal] directly asked the Vice President, why of course, it should be granted,'€ Kalla said.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly who was also present during the meeting said that the government was ready to acknowledge Aburizal'€™s leadership to pave the way for the Munaslub.

'€œOf course, the Riau [leadership],'€ he said, in response to queries over which camp he backed in the Golkar leadership battle.

The Riau leadership refers to Aburizal, who was appointed chairman at a national congress in Pekanbaru, Riau, in 2009.
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