REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Chairman of the Golkar Party's Advisory Council Akbar Tanjung has called on the party's conflicting leaders to take serious efforts to solve their differences in order to end the internal crisis.

Golkar was able to deal with the 1998 crisis, and this time, it should be able to do it again, Akbar Tanjung, the former general chairman of Golkar, affirmed here, Sunday.

"I, as the party's chairman during the early reform period, had gone through a serious crisis. Our offices were burnt down, and even I and my wife were chased after," Akbar recalled.

Akbar expressed deep regret, as he got the impression that currently, some people were not taking the conflict seriously.

"But, unfortunately, I get such an impression. In a statement, Jusuf Kalla believed he could solve the problem. Could he?" he emphasized.

"Do not take a decision personally, as it is not personal affairs, but it is Golkar's affairs, common affairs and for the interest of the nation," he noted.

The party's advisory council has been active in giving advice to the conflicting parties so far, he revealed.

The council is currently suggesting the party to hold an extraordinary congress in line with the party's statute that says it could be done when the party is under threat, he explained.

In this case, the party is facing the threat of not being able to participate in the simultaneous regional head elections (Pilkada), he remarked.

He stated that the last Bali Congress organized by the legitimate leadership resulted in the previous congress in Riau, during which the party reappointed Aburizal Bakrie as the general chairman, Idrus Markham as the secretary general, and Agung Laksono as the deputy chairman.

"The legitimacy is in place. But, in reality, Agung later organized another congress, and in fact, it has been recognized by the government, and even according to the government that the party's court supported Agung," Akbar noted.

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