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JAKARTA. A faction of the Golkar Party led by deputy chairman Agung Laksono has claimed that it “occupied” the party’s headquarters in West Jakarta amid growing divisions between the faction and the camp lead by party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.
Agung, who established and led the so-called Presidium to Rescue the Golkar Party, arrived at Golkar headquarters on Wednesday morning followed by several Golkar executives known to be members of his camp.
Among them were Golkar Youth Generation (AMPG) chairman Yorrys Raweai as well as lawmakers Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, Zainudin Amali and Agun Gunandjar.
Deputy chairman Fadel Muhammad and secretary general Idrus Marham, both Aburizal supporters, were seen at the headquarters later in the morning but only for several minutes.
“I had a meeting with [Golkar’s] provincial chapters,” Idrus said while leaving the building.
Meanwhile, Agung said Aburizal no longer had legitimacy as the leader of the party. “His undemocratic manner and abuse of power are considered to be violations of Golkar’s statute. Hence, he can be dismissed and that was done during our meeting, yesterday,” he said.
The presidium was formed following a violent clash between dozens of AMPG members and a band of men, believed to be hired by Aburizal’s camp, outside the party’s headquarters on Tuesday afternoon, disrupting an ongoing plenary meeting led by deputy chairman Theo L. Sambuaga.
Agung then took over the meeting and announced the formation of the presidium as well as the plan to hold a party congress in January 2015, in Jakarta, despite Aburizal’s camp’s insistence to hold it on Nov. 30 in Bali.
Also on Wednesday, Agung’s camp filed a request with the Law and Human Rights Ministry to register the “new” party national executives, which excluded Aburizal and all of his supporters. “We hope the ministry will legalize this new executive board within one or two days,” said Agus.
Aburizal has been pushing for the congress to be held quickly, amid widespread attempts by the rival faction within the party to win the support of regional and local chapters. If such attempts are successful, they could jeopardize Aburizal's bid to win a second term as party chairman. (Bagus BT Saragih)
