The former chairman of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, Anas Urbaningrum, has voiced his concern for the party's internal democracy and healthy rivalry, which had been central elements since its founding in 2001, following Yudhoyono's authoritarian decision to take over the chairmanship at the party's recent congress. Anas shared his insights with The Jakarta Post's Hans David Tampubolon and Ina Parlina late on Tuesday on the dynamics inside the ruling party, and on his strained relations with Yudhoyono. Here are excerpts from the interview:



Question: You once said you were an 'unwanted child' after you unexpectedly won the election as party chairman in 2010, and that since then there were four attempts to overthrow you. What did you actually do that resulted in Yudhoyono's anger?



Answer: About a year ago, I received a BlackBerry message from Bang Ical [Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie], in which he said 'Nas, be careful, don't end up like Anwar Ibrahim' (Malaysia's former deputy prime minister who was prosecuted for disloyalty toward then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad). I was surprised upon receiving such a message, and I told him that I hadn't done anything wrong to which he replied, 'that's your perception that others probably don't share'. A couple of days later, I found out that Ical had met with Yudhoyono shortly before he sent me the message. I didn't ask any more about it but, implicitly, I knew what it meant. I also met a lot of people asking the same question; why did my boss hate me so much? Honestly, I have no idea. All I knew was he had always been kind to me when we met in person.



Has that incident led you to believe Yudhoyono disliked you?



I continue to believe that I have a good relationship with him. There are dynamics, but it is human to have dynamics in a relationship. The dynamics can be measured from the number of text messages he sends me. I often refer to the messages as 'fatherly advice'.



Can you cite an example of one of the messages?



Well, during a regional congress in North Sulawesi [in 2011], for example, Pak Yudhoyono sent me a message to secure his preferred candidate, Sinyo Harry Sarundajang, [the province's governor]. I communicated his wish to the members of the provincial party office but, in reality, it was hard to comply with Yudhoyono's request and Manado Mayor Vicky Lumentut was elected as the province's chairman. After the congress was over, I received a text message from Yudhoyono in which he said, 'First, apparently, you are not loyal and second, just wait for my reprisal'. I had no idea what it meant.



Did the attempts to oust you begin after that Manado situation?



There had always been attempts to hold an extraordinary congress [to overthrow Anas from the chairmanship] during all of the party's national forums. Those were the internal dynamics. But politically, those dynamics died down due to the support I gained from the regional and branch leaders.



In a media report, Yudhoyono said you visited him to seek protection from a graft case. Do you think his comments signal his resentment?



I don't think 'protection' is the right word to describe what I requested. I asked him not to interfere with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) or to engineer my case. I felt there was someone very close to Yudhoyono, forging special communications with the KPK and, therefore, I asked Yudhoyono to stop this kind of intervention.



Who was that person?



I told Yudhoyono the identity of the man, and about an operation called Sunyi Senyap [deadly quiet] .



Could the President himself have been the man behind the operation?



I don't know, but I believe it was not spontaneous, and was linked with a series of prior incidents related to the political dynamics within the party.



Do you think the leaking of the KPK's draft investigation letter was part of this operation?



It's hard to prove but it's even harder to prove the reverse. In order to determine a connection, the BlackBerry cell phone belonging to KPK chairman Abraham Samad needs to be confiscated and examined. The KPK has a slogan: dare to be honest. We should say instead: dare to be honest via BlackBerry.



When did you meet Yudhoyono to report the Sunyi Senyap operation?



The meeting took place after the supreme assembly meeting on Feb. 8 [the KPK declared Anas a graft suspect on Feb. 22]. After the press conference and after all the members went home, I stayed for a while and had a private meeting with Yudhoyono. I told him everything I knew about the operation and the dynamics. His response was that he would assign someone to release a statement that there had been no intervention.



How do you see the outcome of the party's recent congress that endorsed Yudhoyono as party chairman?



Pasek Suardika [party executive and Anas' confidant] said that the type of democracy that fitted the Democratic Party was demokrasi terpimpin [guided democracy, which was founded by Indonesia's first president Sukarno but that only resulted in authoritarian rule]. And Yudhoyono is a master of this kind of democracy.



It seems there was little room for democracy during the congress. Then why was there no opposition?



I was there in Bali and followed all the developments in the congress. I received a great deal of information. From what I heard, the regional and branch leaders wanted to just let things be; they felt there was no need to fuss and no need to prolong the congress.



What did Yudhoyono offer to tame the members during the congress?



Safety of the party and the safety of their seats.



How do you see the party now?



There's a dominant assumption that SBY owns the party. I always wanted to see the party 'going public', in which the development of a party is determined by its members and supporters. This kind of system ensures that a party lasts longer. During the first congress in Bali, competition among party members was quite healthy; that remained the case during the second congress in Bandung. During the recent congress in Bali, however, the competitive spirit was killed by a single text message. I have no idea what the future holds in terms of the party's hitherto competitive tradition.



What is your prediction for the party in 2014?



As the ruling party, I truly believe the party's performance will fully depend on the public's satisfaction with the government. If the public is satisfied, the party will receive a boost. Its performance will also depend on internal consolidations, which will be determined by the final listing of the legislative candidates. I have received information that some of our members have jumped ship, becoming legislative candidates for new parties. Some of them may have a hunch that they will not get a good electoral number, and some may be disappointed with the current situation, as well as many other motives. After the list is compiled, we can then determine whether or not there will be further disappointments. I have no prediction on how the party will fare in 2014, but the challenges faced will be harder than those in 2009.

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