Bakrie Files Countersuit Against Golkar Rival
Jakarta. The Golkar Party faction led by tycoon Aburizal Bakrie has filed a counter lawsuit against rival chairman Agung Laksono, closing the door for reconciliation between the two feuding camps.
"With the legal steps taken by Aburizal Bakrie against the Ancol [Agung's] faction, I think that deliberation on the so-called reconciliation is no longer needed," Bambang Soesatyo, Golkar’s general treasurer in the Aburizal camp, said on Tuesday.
Agung’s camp on Monday attended the first hearing of their court case against party chairman Bakrie, who was re-elected at Golkar’s national meeting in Bali in December.
The court has given both camps 60 days to reach a settlement.
Bambang said Agung's faction should not "lose their mind" and attack Bakrie's faction personally. It was "better for the two groups to focus on the legal process in West Jakarta State Court" given the two-month timeframe, he said.
Bakrie's camp filed its countersuit against Agung's camp on Monday for failing to recognize the Bali congress last year. Agung was elected party chairman at a rival congress held in Jakarta less than a week after the Bali meeting.
Both factions have registered separately with the government, wishing to be acknowledged as the official representative of Golkar.
The Bakrie claim is being led by state administrative law expert and now-Golkar advocate, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, and is fully supported by provincial and district chapters, Bambang said.
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