Golkar

The Party of Functional Groups (Indonesian: Partai Golongan Karya), often known by its abbreviation Golkar, is a centre to centre-right big tent secular nationalist political party in Indonesia. Founded in 1964 as the Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups (Indonesian: Sekretariat Bersama Golongan Karya, Sekber Golkar), it is the oldest extant political party in Indonesia. It first participated in national elections in 1971 as Functional Groups. Since 2009, it has been the second-largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR), having won 102 seats in the latest election.

Golkar was the ruling political group during the New Order government of Suharto from 1971 to 1999, when it was required to become a political party in order to contest elections. In the ensuing legislative election, its share of votes declined. Golkar then joined the governing coalitions of Presidents Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Sukarnoputri. It regained its position as the largest party in the DPR after winning the 2004 legislative election, and its member Jusuf Kalla was elected as vice president. In 2009, Golkar nominated Kalla for president, but he was defeated by the incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). When Joko Widodo (Jokowi) was elected president in 2014, Golkar initially joined the opposing coalition led by Prabowo Subianto, but in 2016, switched its allegiance to the Jokowi administration.

In 2024, Golkar finished second in the legislative election and gained 102 seats, the party's best performance following a trend of declining seats since 2009. The party also remains in government as part of the governing Advanced Indonesia Coalition. For 53 years, Golkar has continued to be in government, whether it be as the sole ruling party, or as a junior coalition partner.

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 House of Representatives. As some of the members of these functional groups were linked to political parties, this gave political influence to the National Armed Forces and by extension the National Police. 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.

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 with 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 was declared on 4 February 1970, to 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 the DPR also doubled as members of the MPR, and thus, Suharto was easily re-elected to a second term as president in March 1973.