Citizendia

 
Partai Golongan Karya
 
 
LeaderMuhammad Jusuf Kalla (National Chairman)
Agung Laksono (Deputy Chairman)
 
Founded1964
 
IdeologyPancasila, Centre-Right, Nationalism, Secular Conservatism
Official coloursYellow

The Party of the Functional Groups (Indonesian: Partai Golongan Karya) is a political party in Indonesia. Jusuf Kalla (born Watampone, South Sulawesi; May 15, 1942) is the current Vice President of Indonesia and Chairman of the Agung Laksono (born Semarang, Central Java; March 23, 1949) is the head of Indonesia 's People's Representative Council Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Pancasila, (pronounced panʧaˈsila is the official philosophical foundation of the Indonesian state The centre-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals political parties or organizations (such as Think tanks whose views The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation Yellow is the Color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M (long and medium wavelength Cone cells of the Retina about equally Indonesian or Bahasa Indonesia, based on the Riau version of Malay language, was declared the official language with the declaration of A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. It is also known as Golkar (Sekretariat Bersama Golongan Karya, or Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups). It was the ruling party during Suharto's regime (1966-1998), and is the biggest party in today's ruling coalition in Indonesia. Suharto, also spelled Soeharto (June 8 1921 &ndash January 27 2008 was an Indonesian military leader and the second President of Indonesia, holding The New Order ( Indonesian: Orde Baru) is the term coined by former Indonesian President Suharto to characterize his regime as he came to power in 1966 Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar)

Contents

Origins

Golkar was formed on October 20, 1964 under the name Sekber Golkar. Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. It was a federation of 97 NGOs which grew over time to 220 organizations. Although it claimed to be apolitical, Sekber Golkar was formed with the backing of senior army officers to counter the increasing influence of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Suharto and Golkar

In March 1968, General Suharto was officially elected by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) as Indonesia's second President. Suharto, also spelled Soeharto (June 8 1921 &ndash January 27 2008 was an Indonesian military leader and the second President of Indonesia, holding The People's Consultative Assembly ( Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat /MPR is the legislative branch in Indonesia's political sytem. Because of his military background, Suharto was not affiliated to any political parties. Suharto had never expressed much interest in party politics. However, if he were to be elected for a second term as President, he needed to align himself with a political party. Originally, Suharto had shown interest in aligning with the Indonesian National Party (PNI) — the party of his predecessor, Sukarno[1]. The Indonesian National Party ( Partai Nasional Indonesia/PNI) is the same used by several political parties in Indonesia from 1927 until the present day Sukarno ( June 6, 1901 – June 21, 1970) was the first President of Indonesia. But in seeking to distance himself from the old regime, Suharto settled on Golkar.

Suharto then ordered his closest associate, Ali Murtopo, to transform Golkar and turn it into an electoral machine. Ali Murtopo ( Blora, Central Java, 23 September 1924 - Jakarta, 15 May 1984) was a prominent Indonesian general Under Murtopo, and with Suharto's supervision, Golkar was turned from a federation of NGOs into a political party. Under Suharto, Golkar continued to portray itself as a non-ideological entity, without favoritism or political agendas. It promised to focus on "economic development" and "stability" rather than a specific ideological goal. [2] Golkar also began identifying itself with the government, encouraging civil servants to vote for it as a sign of loyalty to the government. See also Bureaucrat The term civil service has two distinct meanings Branch of governmental service in which individuals are hired on the basis

Murtopo claimed that workers were part of a Functional Group, which by rights ought to be subsumed under Golkar: "thus all unions were united into a single body answerable to the state. The population was no longer there to be mobilised by by political parties, rather, the people were the 'floating mass', or the 'ignorant mass', who needed firm guidance so they would not be lured into politics. [3] In order to "Golkar-ize" the nation, Murtopo sometimes used the military and gangs of young thugs to eliminate political competition. [4]

Golkar declared on 4 February 1970 that it would be participating in the 1971 legislative elections. Suharto's alignment with Golkar paid dividends when Golkar won 62% of the votes and an overwhelming majority in the People's Representative Council (DPR). The People's Representative Council ( Indonesian: Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat / DPR) is the Lower house of the legislature of Indonesia. The members of DPR also doubled as members as MPR and thus Suharto was easily re-elected to a second term as President in March 1973.

The 1971 legislative election was a success for Golkar and Suharto. Strengthened by his re-election, Suharto quickly began tightening his grip on Golkar. Control was increased in October 1973 with the impementation of a less democratic and more centralized system headed by a Chairman. In October 1978, after his re-election to a 3rd term, Suharto further consolidated his control of Golkar by being elected Chairman of the Executive Board (Ketua Dewan Pembina), a position whose authority supersedes even the party Chairman. From this position, Suharto had the supreme power in Golkar while leaving the day-to-day running of Golkar to the Chairman.

Aside from being dominated by Suharto, Golkar was also an organization dominated by the Army. Out of the four people that served as Golkar Chairman during the New Order, three had a military background. The New Order ( Indonesian: Orde Baru) is the term coined by former Indonesian President Suharto to characterize his regime as he came to power in 1966 It was only in the last years of Suharto's rule that Harmoko, a lifelong civilian, was elected as Golkar Chairman.

Electoral dominance in the New Order

Golkar continued to dominate Indonesian politics well beyond the 1971 legislative elections. In subsequent New Order legislative elections, Golkar won 62% (1977), 64% (1982), 73% (1987), 68% (1992), and 74% (1997). Because of Golkar's dominance, the government could successfully pass its bills without any meaningful opposition, and it was able to form a Cabinet which consisted only of Golkar appointees.

After 1973, Suharto banned all political parties but for the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the United Development Party (PPP). The Indonesian Democratic Party ( PDI) was one of the major state-approved parties during the New Order era of the late 20th-century in Indonesia. The United Development Party ( Indonesian: Partai Persatuan Pembangunan / PPP; sometimes translated as Development Unity Party) is a Political These two parties were nominally permitted to contest the reign of Golkar. In practice, however, Golkar permitted only a semblance of competition. The state controlled the only television station in Indonesia, and elections were "exercises in controlled aggression. ". [5] Elections were ritualized performances of "choice," in which local authorities were to obey directives about Golkar's electoral results in their area. . [6] A system of rewards, punishments, and violence meted out by thugs helped to guarantee cooperation across the archipelago, and the perpetual reelection of Golkar. . [7]

After the 1977 and 1997 legislative elections, there were claims of electoral fraud launched by the , who together with Golkar were the only legal political parties after 1973. There were also claims of Golkar members intimidating the electorate to vote for Golkar.

Organization and factions

In its original organization, Golkar had seven groups. These seven groups were first outlined in 1965 and 1967 and called Core Organizational Groups (KINO). These KINOs are the Union of Multifunctional Mutual Assistance Organizations (Kosgoro), the Indonesian Entrepreneur Workers Organization Centre (Soksi), the Mutual Assistance Families Society (MKGR), the Profession (Profesi), the Defense and Security NGOs (Ormas Hankam), the Enforcers of the Mandate of the Indonesian People (Gakari), and the Development Movement (Gerakan Pembangunan).

During the New Order Golkar was divided into three factions:

These three factions work closely together to gain consensus and in the case of nominating a Presidential candidate it was the heads of these three factions who went to inform the candidate (which until 1998 was Suharto) that he had just been nominated as Golkar's Presidential candidate. The three factions did not always work together however. In 1988, the ABRI faction was unable to nominate Sudharmono as Vice President. Sudharmono ( 12 March 1927 &ndash 25 January 2006) was Indonesia 's fifth Vice president, and was in office during the period The factions disappeared along with the fall of the New Order.

After Suharto: Reformasi and beyond

Main article: Reformation (Indonesia)

With Suharto's fall from power in May 1998, Golkar quickly sought to adapt and reform itself. In July 1998, a Special National Congress was held to elect the next Chairman of Golkar. The congress were dogged by protests by both pro-Suharto and anti-Suharto groups. Suharto himself did not come to the congress. In the contest that followed, Akbar Tanjung emerged as the new Chairman of Golkar after beating Army General Edi Sudrajat. Akbar Tanjung (born Sibolga, North Sumatra; August 14 1945 is an Indonesian Politician who is a former chairman of Golkar party It was the first time that a Golkar Chairman was elected democratically rather than appointed by the Chairman of the Executive Board. Under Akbar, the Executive Board was abolished and replaced by an Advisory Board which had considerably less authority.

In 1999, Golkar lost it first legislative elections to Megawati Sukarnoputri's PDI-P. Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Soekarnoputri (born January 23, 1947) was President of Indonesia from July 2001 to October 20, The Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle ( Indonesian: Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan, PDI-P) is a Political party in Indonesia Golkar won 20% of the votes and was the runner-up in the legislative elections. Despite losing these elections Golkar was still able to secure the Tanjung's election as Head of DPR. October 1999 would see the MPR assemble for its General Session during which a President and a Vice President would be elected. It was widely expected that Golkar would support Jusuf Habibie in his bid for a second term as President. Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (born June 25, 1936) more commonly known simply as Rudi Habibie or B J Habibie, was the third President of Indonesia Before Habibie could be nominated, however, he was required to deliver an accountability speech: a report delivered by the President to the MPR at the end of his term. The MPR would not ratify the accountability speech and it was revealed that some Golkar members had voted against ratifying the speech.

Golkar would get its revenge on PDI-P in the presidential elections. Although PDI-P had won the legislative elections, Golkar joined forces with the Central Axis, a political coalition put together by MPR Chairman Amien Rais, to nominate and successfully secure the election of Abdurrahman Wahid as President. Amien Rais (born 26 April 1944 is a prominent Indonesian politician who led and inspired the reform movement that forced the resignation of President Suharto Abdurrahman Wahid (also known as Gus Dur) (born September 7 1940 is an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the President Golkar, however, was unable to stop the election of Megawati as the Vice President.

Golkar was rewarded for its support of Wahid by having its members appointed to ministerial positions in Wahid's Cabinet. Much like those who had supported Wahid, Golkar would grow disillusioned with Wahid. In April 2000, Jusuf Kalla, a Golkar member who held position as Minister of Industries and Trade was sacked from his position. Jusuf Kalla (born Watampone, South Sulawesi; May 15, 1942) is the current Vice President of Indonesia and Chairman of the When Golkar inquired as to why this was done, Wahid claimed alleged it was because of corruption. In July 2001, Golkar, along with its Central Axis allies, held an MPR Special Session to replace President Wahid with Megawati.

By 2004, the reformist sentiments that had led PDI-P to victory in the 1999 legislative elections had died down. Many Indonesians were disappointed with what Reformasi had achieved thus far and were also disillusioned with Megawati's Presidency. Such discontent enabled Golkar to emerged victorious in the 2004 legislative elections with 21% of the votes.

Unlike the other political parties who had one person as their Presidential candidate from the start, Golkar had five. In April 2004, Golkar held a national convention to decide who would become Golkar's candidate for President. These five were Akbar Tanjung, General Wiranto, Lieutenant-General Prabowo, Aburizal Bakrie, and Surya Paloh. Wiranto (born 4 April 1947 is a retired Indonesian army General. Prabowo Subianto is an Indonesian career soldier and politician Aburizal Bakrie is an Indonesian Entrepreneur and Politician. Surya Dharma Paloh (born 16 July 1951 in Kutaraja, Aceh) is an Indonesian media tycoon who owns the Media Indonesia Akbar won the first round of elections but Wiranto emerged as the winner in the second round. Wiranto chose Solahuddin Wahid as his running mate.

The Presidential Elections were held on 5th July 2004. The first round of elections was won by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusef Kalla who faced Megawati and Hasyim the September 2004 run-off. General (Ret Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born September 9, 1949) is an Indonesian retired military general and the sixth President of Indonesia Wiranto/Wahid came second and there were allegations of disunity within the party with Akbar not fully supporting Wiranto after losing the nomination.

In August 2004 Golkar formed, with PDI-P, PPP, Reform Star Party (PBR) and Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), a national coalition to back Megawati. The Reform Star Party ( Partai Bintang Reformasi) is an Islamist Political party in Indonesia. The Prosperous Peace Party ( Partai Damai Sejahtera) is a Christian -democratic Political party in Indonesia. Further infighting would hamper Golkar in its bid to back Megawati. Fahmi Idris led a group of Golkar members in defecting and threw their support behind Yudhoyono and Kalla. At the Presidential Run-Off in September 2004, Yudhoyono emerged victorious over Megawati to become Indonesia's 6th President. Jusuf Kalla, who had gone his own way back in April 2004, became Vice President.

The 2004 National Congress

Although he had overwhelmingly won the Presidency, Yudhoyono was still weak in the DPR. His own Democratic Party had only won 7% in the Legislative Elections and even combined with other parties who had aligned themselves with the new Government, they still had to contend with the Legislative muscles of Golkar and PDI-P who now intended to play the role of opposition.

With a National Congress to be held in December 2004, Yudhoyono and Kalla had originally backed Head of DPR Agung Laksono to become Golkar Chairman. Agung Laksono (born Semarang, Central Java; March 23, 1949) is the head of Indonesia 's People's Representative Council When Agung was perceived to be too weak to run against Akbar, Yudhoyono and Kalla threw their weight behind Surya Paloh. Finally, when Paloh was perceived to be to weak to run against Akbar, Yudhoyono gave the green light for Kalla to run for the Golkar Chairmanship.

This was a widely controversial move. Up to that point, Yudhoyono had not let members of his administration hold a concurrent position in political parties to prevent the possible abuse of power. There was also complains by Wiranto who claimed that some months earlier, Yudhoyono had promised to support him if he runs for the Golkar Chairmanship.

On 19th December 2004, Kalla became the new Golkar Chairman with over 50% of the votes. Akbar, who had expected to win a second term as Golkar Chairman was defeated with 30% of the votes. Agung and Surya, who Yudhoyono and Kalla had backed earlier, became the Party Vice Chairman and the Chairman of the Advisory Board, respectively.

Kalla's new appointment as Chairman of Golkar significantly strengthened Yudhoyono's Government in Parliament and leaves PDI-P as the only major opposition party in the DPR.

List of Golkar Chairmen

External links

Notes

  1. ^ Elson, Robert [2001]. Akbar Tanjung (born Sibolga, North Sumatra; August 14 1945 is an Indonesian Politician who is a former chairman of Golkar party Jusuf Kalla (born Watampone, South Sulawesi; May 15, 1942) is the current Vice President of Indonesia and Chairman of the Suharto: A Political Biography. UK: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, p. 186. ISBN 0 521 77326 1.  
  2. ^ Elson, Robert [2001]. Suharto: A Political Biography. UK: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, p. 187. ISBN 0 521 77326 1.  
  3. ^ Vickers, Adrian [2005]. A Modern History of Indonesia. UK: Cambridge University Press, p. 162. ISBN 0521542626.  
  4. ^ Vickers, Adrian [2005]. A Modern History of Indonesia. UK: Cambridge University Press, p. 162. ISBN 0521542626.  
  5. ^ Vickers, Adrian [2005]. A Modern History of Indonesia. UK: Cambridge University Press, p. 175. ISBN 0521542626.  
  6. ^ Vickers, Adrian [2005]. A Modern History of Indonesia. UK: Cambridge University Press, p. 175. ISBN 0521542626.  
  7. ^ Vickers, Adrian [2005]. A Modern History of Indonesia. UK: Cambridge University Press, p. 175. ISBN 0521542626.  
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic