Indonesian president turns to son for help with faltering ruling party

Late last week, Yudhoyono effectively ditched the chairman of the Democratic Party, who has become its latest member to be embroiled in a corruption scandal. Yudhoyono said he would take charge of the party.

“I will concentrate on performing my duties as secretary general of the Democratic Party,” the Kompas daily website quoted the son, Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, commonly called Ibas, as saying, adding he was stepping down as a member of parliament.

The comments also follow some media criticism of the son for rarely turning up at parliament.

The Democratic Party's latest problems surround its chairman, Anas Urbaningrum, who has been linked to a graft case involving the construction of a sports stadium. A leaked document widely reported in the media said he had been named a suspect in the case by the powerful Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) but there has been no official confirmation.

Anas, who remains nominal party chairman, went on national television on Thursday to sign an integrity pledge Yudhoyono told all party members to agree to as part of attempts to raise the party's badly damaged reputation.

In December, Yudhoyono's sports minister was forced to step down after being named as a suspect in a bribery investigation by the KPK.

Next year also sees a presidential election after Yudhoyono's second and final term ends.

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