IO, Jakarta – The race for leadership of Golkar Party (Party of Functional Groups) has become increasingly heated up. After incumbent and current Golkar Party Chairman Airlangga Hartarto declared several times and claimed to have the support of more than 460 Regional Representative Council (DPD), challenger Bambang Soesatyo (Bamsoet as he is known for) claimed to have the support of 462 of the 560 votes. Bamsoet stated he was ready to show proof of his support in the form of signatures on official stamps, to the public. “Support for me because regions want something new is extraordinary. Almost 80-90% support renewal in the Golkar Party,” he said.
Bamsoet said he was optimistic that he could compete with Airlangga for the seat of Golkar chairman, for if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have run. Although Airlangga is supported by Kosgoro (Multipurpose Cooperative of Mutual Assistance), Kosgoro was only one vote out of the 560 total votes. “If I weren’t sure, I wouldn’t step forward,” he said.
Furthermore, the House Speaker (DPR) asserted that as scheduled, the Golkar Party National Conference could be held from January to December. Airlangga stated he wanted the conference to be held in December, but those below wished to have it held sooner, such as before October or before the formation of the new administration.
According to Bamsoet, other parties, such as the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), holds their congress on August 8 in Bali, and the National Awakening Party (PKB) will hold their conference on August 27-28 in Bali. As a result, he hoped the Golkar Party would at the latest hold their national conference in September. Ideally, the national conference would be held before the formation of a new administration. However, in the end, it would depend on the party’s dynamics and grassroots members. “We have a mechanism where all the grassroots members urge the central board (DPP) to quickly hold a plenary meeting, which has not been done in a long time. Then, in the plenary meeting, it will be decided when the National Leadership Meeting (Rapimnas) will be held, which is one level below the National Conference. Later, the National Conference date will be decided in the National Leadership Meeting which is participated in by the level I or provincial level DPD leaders,” he said.
As a result, Bamsoet is confident that the national conference will be held before October because, on average, Golkar leadership in rural areas want change and a more dynamic Golkar moving forward. Furthermore, there are already 189 people who have signed a petition asking the Golkar Chairman to promptly hold a plenary meeting. “There have already been 189 plenary members who have signed a petition so that the Golkar Chairman holds a plenary meeting because it has been almost a year since the last one. Even though the Golkar Party statutes and bylaws state that there must be at least one plenary meeting in the next two months,” he explained.
Pressure put on Chairman Airlangga was increased by several Golkar Party Central Board members who wrote to Airlangga urging him to promptly hold a plenary meeting before the national conference. As written in Golkar’s statutes and bylaws, plenary meetings must be held routinely. However, since January 1, 2019, there has not been a single one held. “I, as one of the daily and plenary administrators, as Head of Public Health, submit a letter directed at Chairman Airlangga Hartarto concerning the duty of the Golkar Party Central Board to promptly hold a plenary meeting,” said Bamsoet.
Other’s submitting letters included Head of Golkar Regional Culture Ulla Nuchrawaty, Chairman of the Golkar Cooperative and SME Entrepreneurship Department Dhifla Wiyani, a member of the Golkar Central Board Youth Sector Nofel Saleh Hilabi, and Central Board functionaries and Golkar members Cyprus A Tatali, Abdul Razak and Fatahila Ramli, including Marlina. (Dan)