T

he NasDem Party said that it remained intact and was confident about its prospects for the 2014 elections following a power struggle that led to the departure of some of its prominent members, including media mogul Hary Tanoesoedibjo.

Hary resigned from the party in protest over party chief patron Surya Paloh’s move to seize control of the party.

On Friday, Surya officially replaced outgoing party chairman Patrice Rio Capella in the party’s first ever congress in Jakarta.

Patrice, who now serves as one of members of the party is central board, said that conflict was part of politics and the NasDem party remained on track despite the rifts.

“In politics, people can always enter and leave political parties. It’s a normal dynamic in politics,” Patrice told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

He said that the image of NasDem being an undemocratic party, as indicated by Surya’s takeover of the party leadership, would not put the party’s future at risk.

“It’s only public opinion. People could think that something wrong happens. But it [the election] was by design,” he said. “The party is ready to compete in the upcoming election. We still have loyal members in the party.”

Patrice also said in recent days, the party won further support from influential figures.

He said the party had enlisted former Indonesian Military (TNI)chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and former Golkar Party executive Enggartiasto Lukito.

According to Patrice, the two figures are among new members who will most likely sit on the party’s new central board to be announced by Surya in two weeks.

Political analyst J. Kristiadi from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said the recent power struggle between Hary and Surya would likely leave a lasting impact.

“The first test [has been] what happened during the first congress and Hary’s exit. They must carry out damage control, [not allowing the] political split to become a stigma that will consume them,” Kristiadi said in a discussion on Sunday.

He said although Surya was now in control of the situation, he would have to build a new image for the party.

“He must come up with a strategy to contain negative opinion about the power struggle [within the party],” he added.

NasDem executive Ferry Mursyidan Baldan said the party was now treading a difficult path following the rift. He said what the party should do now was prevent the authoritarian stigma from consuming the party.

“As an organization, we are still very young. We are still looking for chemistry between members. We have to learn from the rift and move on. All party members must now focus on the 2014 election,” he said, adding that the real test would be for the party to contest the 2014 legislative election.

Ferry, former member of the Golkar Party, said that even without Hary’s financial backing, NasDem would not face any difficulties.

Patrice admitted that the departure of Hary would impact the party. He said that Hary “gave the party extra energy”.

“The party must keep on with or without him. It’s better to have someone who is loyal and wholly dedicates himself to the party [rather] than someone with financial capital,” he said.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Danang Widoyoko concurred with Patrice, saying that political parties should not recruit members based on their financial capacity and parties were now embracing Hary for the very same reason.

“These days, parties are looking for someone with lots of money, instead of someone who is smart or someone with great networking skills. It’s clear they want them to fund the parties,” Danang said.