Widening Cracks

Hendra Irawan Rahim, Golkar's West Sumatra regional chairman, remembered very clearly how the party's convention in Bali on Monday two weeks ago did not even discuss the possibility of a national consultative meeting. He said those present were never asked to set down the points they had agreed upon. At the end, Deputy Chair Nurdin Halid only read out decisions made during the proceedings and asked all attendees to concur without further discussion.

Hendra was later surprised to hear Nurdin telling the media that another national convention was unlikely before 2019. He said that the idea of holding such a meeting had never been presented to attendees, including Golkar's provincial-level chairs. Although taken aback by the news, he said he had not yet decided on a firm position. "I will probably state this at the upcoming meeting of the party's national leadership," he said recently. In contrast, Nurdin told the press that all the decisions had the agreement of those present.