JAKARTA. A political analyst has said Golkar newly appointed advisory board chief Aburizal Bakrie is likely to continue to play a leading role in the party, with a substantial influence over decision-making processes within the party.
A senior researcher at Jakarta-based think-tank PARA Syndicate, F.S. Swantoro, said the newly elected Golkar Party chairman, Setya Novanto, would probably operate under Aburizal’s shadow.
He added that it was also likely that senior Golkar politician Nurdin Halid, who has been nominated to serve as the party’s executive chairman, would be heavily influenced by Aburizal in the course of his duties. Nurdin and Aburizal have long had acted in partnership within the party.
“In fact, Pak Nurdin and Pak Setya’s positions in the party are under Aburizal’s control,” Swantoro told thejakartapost.com in Jakarta on Tuesday.
In Golkar’s extraordinary national congress ( Munaslub ) in Bali last week, Aburizal was elected to head the party’s advisory board. Most of the congress participants, comprising officials of Golkar’s regional executive boards at provincial, regency and municipality levels, approved the selection of the business tycoon as the leader of the newly established advisory board.
With his current position, Aburizal will have the authority to make two significant strategic decisions: First, appointing Golkar’s presidential and vice presidential candidates and second, appointing Golkar representatives who will sit in important state institutions.
However, the recommendation of the advisory board is not legally binding as the Golkar Party’s central executive board is not obliged to follow the recommendation.
The party’s previous leadership did not have an advisory board in its structure, unlike during the New Order era when the party’s leadership had an advisory board, which was always led by the party’s patron, former president Soeharto.
During the Munaslub last week, Golkar also established two other new boards, namely the board of experts and the honorary board. Senior Golkar politician Agung Laksono will lead the board of experts while former president BJ Habibie will head the honorary board. (Erika Anindita Dewi)
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