 This 1983: Doomsday page is a Proposal.
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Party of Functional Groups | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Azis Syamsuddin |
| President | Airlangga Hartarto |
| Vice President | Bambang Soesatyo |
| Founded | 20 October 1964 |
| Headquarters | Jakarta |
| Newspaper | Suara Karya |
| Youth wing | AMPG (Golkar Party Young Force) |
| Labour wing | KSPSI KORPRI (1971–1999) |
| Womens wing | KPPG (Golkar Party Women's Corps) |
| Ideology | Conservatism National conservatism Economic liberalism Nationalism Secularism Pancasila During the New order: Big tent Authoritarianism Anti-Communism Factions: Ultranationalism |
| Political position | Centre-right to right-wing During the New order : Far-Right |
| Slogan | Golkar's Voice, People's Voice (Suara Golkar, Suara Rakyat) |
The Party of Functional Groups (Indonesian : Partai Golongan Karya), commonly referred to as Golkar, is a political party in Indonesia. It is the current ruling party in the country, with 122 seats in the People's Representative Council as of 2021.
Originally, Golkar was not a political party. Instead, Golkar was originally founded as a federation of Non-Government Organizations, known as the Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups (Indonesian : Sekretariat Bersama Golongan Karya) in the final period of Sukarno's presidency. Golkar participated and won in the 1971 Legislative Election (the first Election in the New Order regime of President Suharto), and became the ruling party of the nation. This victory was repeated in the rest of the Elections in the New Order regime, including those even after Doomsday. This included the Elections of 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997.
After the death of Suharto and the end of the New Order regime, Golkar officially became a political party. It participated in the 2002 legislative and presidential election, which were the first free and fair elections in Indonesia since the 1955 Legislative election, as well as the first direct presidential election in Indonesia. Golkar lost more then 200 seats and the presidency to it's rival, the Indonesian Democratic Party. Mainly due to the party's unpopularity, corruption, and association with the New Order regime.
Discontent against the government of the Indonesian Democratic Party under Megawati Sukarnoputri resulted in Golkar being re-elected to government. Following elections have resulted in back and forth between the Indonesian Democratic Party and Golkar. Currently, Golkar holds the presidency, while also controlling the People's Representative Council, as they are currently in a coalition with several other parties.
History[]
Pre-Doomsday[]
Origins[]
In 1959, President Sukarno introduced his concept of Guided Democracy, in which so-called functional groups would play a role in government in place of political parties. The Indonesian National Armed Forces supported its creation because it believed these groups would balance the growing strength of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI).
In 1960, Sukarno awarded sectoral groups such as teachers, the Armed Forces and the Indonesian National Police, workers and artists seats in the Mutual Cooperation – People's Representative Council. As some of the members of these functional groups were linked to political parties, this gave political influence to the National Armed Forces. The TNI then established an anti-PKI trade union, the Central Organization of Indonesian Workers, or Soksi (Sentral Organisasi Karyawan Swadiri Indonesia), and used this as the core of an Armed Forces-led Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups, or Sekber Golkar, which was officially established on 20 October 1964.
By 1968 there were almost 250 organisations under the Sekber umbrella. On 22 November 1969 they were organized into seven main organizations, or Kino (Kelompok Induk Organisasi), namely Soksi, Kosgoro (Union of Mutual Cooperation Multifunction Organizations), MKGR (Mutual Assistance Families Association), Gerakan Karya Rakyat (People's Working Movement), Ormas Hankam (Defense and Security Mass Organizations), Professi (professional organizations), and Gerakan Pembangunan (Development Movement). The Joint Secretariat was one of those organisations moblized against the PKI in the aftermath of the failure of the 30 September Movement in 1965.
Suharto and Golkar[]
In March 1968, General Suharto was officially elected by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) as Indonesia's second president. 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. 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. 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. Golkar also began identifying itself with the government, encouraging civil servants to vote for it as a sign of loyalty to the government.
Murtopo claimed that workers were 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 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. In order to "Golkar-ize" the nation, Murtopo sometimes used the military and gangs of young thugs to eliminate political competition.
Golkar declared on 4 February 1970, that it would participate 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 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 implementation 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 Armed Forces. With most of it's chairmen coming from a military background.
Post-Doomsday[]
Electoral history[]
Legislative elections[]
| Election | Ballot number | Total seats won | Total votes | Share of votes | Outcome of election | Party leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 5 | 236 / 360
|
34,348,673 | 62.80% | ▲236 seats, Governing group | Suprapto Sukowati |
| 1977 | 2 | 232 / 360
|
39,750,096 | 62.11% | ▼4 seats, Governing group | Amir Murtono |
| 1982 | 2 | 242 / 360
|
48,334,724 | 64.34% | ▲10 seats, Governing group | Amir Murtono |
Presidential elections[]
| Election | Ballot number | Pres. candidate | Running mate | 1st round (Total votes) |
Share of votes | Outcome | 2nd round (Total votes) |
Share of votes | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1 | Try Sustrino | Wiranto | 26,816,453 | 22.6% | Runoff | 48,216,478 | 42.2% | Lost 
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