People’s Conscience Party (Hanura Party)
The two smallest of the nine parties to win DPR seats in the 2009 elections were new parties both founded by retired army generals with highly tainted human-rights records. The People’s Conscience Party (Hanura Party) was founded by retired General Wiranto (one name only), who helped force Suharto from power, quash Prabowo’s attempted coup, and begin military reforms. Wiranto remained a charismatic, highly recognizable political figure with deep pockets. Wiranto is nothing if not ruthlessly ambitious, He also was in command during the Indonesian army–backed militia rampage in East Timor in September 1999 as well as during several bloody incidents with demonstrators in Jakarta. Wiranto was indicted by a UN-sponsored East Timor special crimes unit for the atrocities committed by soldiers and others following East Timor's 1999 vote for independence.
Despite his electoral belly flop in 2004 (Wiranto came in third in the presidential primary) and his reputation as an international pariah, Wiranto still has a following among Jakarta's elite. The most common argument for a Wiranto candidacy could be summed up with one word: decisiveness. While many often blast President Yudhoyono for an overly pensive and languorous decision-making style, they praised Wiranto for his tough-mindedness and his iron fist. Wiranto's strongest perceived asset was allegedly SBY's most obvious shortcoming. After all, they argue, what better palliative for a country hamstrung they claim by an overly deliberate president than Wiranto, a former general who demonstrated that he would never let a trivial thing like human rights stand in the way of a good crackdown.
Wiranto unveiled his Hanura party on 20 December 2006 and immediately announced the party's leadership structure, a veritable who's who of old order military figures. Wiranto would chair the party, while insurance businessman Yus Usman Sumanegara will serve as the party secretary-general. According to media reporting, the party's central board included: former Army Chief of Staff General Subagyo, former Naval Chief of Staff Admiral Bernard Ken Sondakh, former Army Deputy Commander General Fachrul Razi, and former military Chief of General Affairs Lieutenant General Suaidi Marasabessy. The board also included former Suharto era Finance Minister Fuad Bawazier, former Women's Affairs Minister Tuti Alawiyah, and a few actors.
Several high profile political personalities attended the ceremony announcing the party's creation, a group that closely resembled the senior political figures opposed to the Yudhoyono administration who have informally met in the past. These included: former President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), former Golkar Party Chairman Akbar Tandjung, former Vice President Try Sutrisno and former Army Chief of Staff Ryamizard Ryacudu. Following the ceremony, Gus Dur praised Wiranto's leadership capabilities and endorsed the Hanura party's prospects in the 2009 elections.
Wiranto aggressively tapped into the "Old Order" military network to build an impressive financial base for Hanura. In many instances, Wiranto has also allegedly recruited retired generals and lower ranking officials away from Golkar and the President's own Democratic Party (PD). Though Wiranto had not spoken publicly of Hanura's potential to serve as a platform for a 2009 bid, he clearly believed he can use the party to become a viable candidate. Wiranto created the party as part of a comprehensive strategy to position himself for a competitive bid for the presidency in 2009. Wiranto's party launch was not covered all that extensively by the mainstream Indonesian media, reflecting perhaps the conventional wisdom that Wiranto's best chance at the presidency had already passed.
Wiranto quickly developed his Hanura party into a nationwide presence, opening up over 400 party offices throughout the archipelago. Observers in the Indonesian parliament (DPR) have suggested that newly formed parties like Hanura will be required to maintain chapters in all 33 provinces and in 75 percent of the districts, and Hanura already seemed to be in a position to meet this participatory threshold. In 2009 the Hanura Party won 3.8 percent of the vote and 17 DPR seats. Wiranto ran as Kalla’s vice presidential candidate, but the ticket won only 12 percent of the vote to place third.
Hanura was seen as a transparent money making vehicle for retired generals - a money laundering tool for the old order generals.
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