Golkar n money

Money, money, money. It is indeed shameful and disgusting money seems to be the only factor in determining who will win the Golkar Party chairmanship in Pekanbaru, Riau, this week. Media reports about alleged vote buying have raised many doubts about the credibility of the party leaders. When leaders are elected because of their wealth, and not because of their capability, it is hard to believe they can achieve quality results.

We heard little about comprehensive programs from the candidates — business tycoon Aburizal Bakrie and media baron Surya Paloh are so far the strongest contenders — on what politicians will do to restore the party’s past supremacy in local and national elections.

We wished they could provide detailed programs to the party stakeholders, but we could only gain information about the mighty power of their wealth. It is true that both Aburizal and Surya boasted Golkar would win more votes in local elections and in the 2014 legislative and presidential elections, but they apparently also know congress participants are more interested in how they
can get the highest financial and political benefits from the congress.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla easily won the Golkar leadership in 2004, several weeks after he and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono were sworn in as the country’s new leaders. He defeated then incumbent chairman Akbar Tandjung, because he reportedly poured in huge money to attract Golkar leaders.

When Golkar received fewer-than-expected votes in the April legislative elections, Kalla was largely blamed for the failure.

Soeharto established Golkar as his political machine when he came to power in the 1960s. It was the only major political party around during his tenure, although there were also two smaller parties.

After his fall in 1998, Golkar votes decreased in the 1999 elections. It only secured 120 seats in the House of Representatives that year, 128 seats in 2004 and just 107 seats in 2009.

Soeharto’s youngest son, “Tommy” Soeharto, is also trying his luck in this congress. He has also promised lucrative incentives if he wins the race.

However there is little hope for Tommy to regain family control over the party.

Hopefully the candidates will present their clear and achievable vision and mission to participants of the Golkar congress, which will run from Monday until Thursday.

And we hope the 492 regional and 33 provincial chapters, and Golkar’s 10 wing organizations, which have voting rights in the congress, use a moral conscience — and not their greed for money and power — to elect the party’s new chairman.

As long as money is the most dominant factor in determining the winner of the Golkar leadership race,
there is little hope people can gain more trust in the party. But the behavior of Golkar leaders perhaps also reflects the behavior of our leaders in general. How can we expect democracy to flourish in our country when vote buying remains rampant?



http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/06/all-about-money.html