The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 07/15/2009 11:54 AM | Headlines
Following the Golkar Party's poor showing in the April 9 legislative election and outright defeat in the July 8 presidential election, the party's younger members have demanded they be given more significant leadership roles, lest the party continue to lose ground in the future.
"The existing organizational structure is comprised mostly of old men. We must reform for the future. The next chairman must give around 70 percent of the structural posts to younger party members," Golkar legislator Yuddy Chrisnandi told the press at the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
"The younger Golkar members are those who are under 50 years old and have a lot of integrity and progressive ideas for the future. It is important to nurture the young elite's ability to lead because, in the future, we are going to compete with other parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party, which already have a number of high ranking, high quality young members," he added.
Yuddy said a lack of money was the main obstacle for younger members seeking top positions in the party.
"There are a lot of young men just like myself in Golkar who are ready to step up. However, the reality is that integrity and idealism mean nothing in the party. The only thing that really matters is financial power," he said.
"What makes things worse is that a lot of people within Golkar do not realize that the party's main weakness is having too much lust for money and power. Such a lust has become tradition within the party's older generation, and in the end has led to the party's downfall in both the legislative and presidential election," he added.
Golkar secured 14 percent of votes in April's legislative elections, a significant decrease from the 21 percent garnered in 2004.
This put the party a distant second to the Democratic Party, which gained a surprising 21 percent of the vote.
Golkar Party chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who ran for the presidency with Wiranto of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) as his running mate, gained just 12 percent of votes in last week's presidential election, based on the results of various unofficial quick counts.
Incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Democratic Party secured his re-election in what is expected to be a landslide victory, winning more than 60 percent of the votes, according to quick counts.
"Such defeats should serve as a valuable lesson for Golkar's old elites. They must reflect on the fact that they have failed to bring the party to victory and they must resign to give the younger generation a chance," Yuddy said.
With Kalla's ousting at the upcoming Golkar National Congress, Golkar's top elite are considering several replacements. Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie and media magnate Suryo Paloh appear to be the frontrunners for the position.
Yuddy said the party's young elite have yet to decide which candidate they will support.
"Both of them have an equal chance at leading Golkar. However, the chosen one must be willing to provide a greater leadership role for the younger generation," he said.
His colleague, Poempida Hidayatullah, said the party's younger members needed to take a much deeper look at each candidate's plans for the future before making their decision.
"Both of them have more than enough leadership potential. However, their concept of Golkar's future is yet to be determined," he said.
"They must outline clear concepts on where they want to take Golkar in the next five years and over the next decade. The younger members will be in favor of the candidate that has a clear plan on the party's future," he added.
Political expert from the Indonesia Institute of Sciences, Lili Romli, highlighted the urgent need for Golkar - the longtime ruling party during the Soeharto regime - to rejuvenate itself.
"Give the younger elite a chance to take on leadership roles. There are many young Golkar members who are more than capable of becoming great leaders," he said. (hdt)
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