Gus Dur denies deflating minority PPP<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Moslem scholar Abdurrahman Wahid denied he was
\nseeking to deflate the minority United Development Party (PPP)
\nthrough his alliance with the dominant Golkar.<\/p>\n
He said Ismail Hasan Metareum, the chairman of PPP who accused
\nhim of giving political aid to Golkar in penetrating the Moslem-
\nbased party's strongholds, was only \"sulking\".<\/p>\n
\"He shouldn't sulk just because he saw my closeness with
\n(Golkar deputy chairwoman) Tutut,\" he said yesterday, referring
\nto Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana. Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur,
\nescorted Tutut to a meeting with members of the Nahdlatul Ulama
\nMoslem organization which he chairs.<\/p>\n
The United Development Party should, instead, imitate Golkar
\nleaders in their effort to win the hearts of NU members, he said.<\/p>\n
\"NU belongs to all three political contestants. No political
\norganization can claim that NU belongs to them only,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately yesterday, Ismail again voiced his suspicion that
\nAbdurrahman was seeking to deflate PPP's chances in the May 29
\ngeneral elections through his activities with Golkar.<\/p>\n
Through the press, Ismail asked that Abdurrahman stop giving
\npolitical aid to Golkar's electioneering in areas traditionally
\nknown as the stronghold of PPP.<\/p>\n
\"We feel that Abdurrahman Wahid's close relations with Golkar
\ndeputy chairwoman Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana are likely to reduce
\nvotes in the May 29 general elections, especially in the party's
\nstrongholds,\" Ismail said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Whether or not he realized it, Abdurrahman has deflated PPP
\nin its election preparations,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Speaking after signing an agreement with the Takaful Keluarga
\nInsurance Company to insure 1,697 party campaigners, Ismail
\npointed at the extensive travel Abdurrahman had undertaken in a
\nnumber of PPP stronghold areas in Central Java.<\/p>\n
Pekalongan in Central Java and Pasuruan in East Java, for
\ninstance, saw PPP win majority votes in the 1992 election.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman and Hardiyanti have been appearing in public
\ntogether, triggering speculation of new political alliances. In
\nthe past two years, Gus Dur was thought to have formed a
\npolitical entente with Megawati Soekarnoputri, the ousted chief
\nof the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, for instance, took Hardiyanti to meet some 10,000
\nNU members in Sidoarjo, about 25 kilometers south of the East
\nJava capital of Surabaya, last Wednesday. The two also appeared
\nbefore NU members on March 30 in Semarang.<\/p>\n
Two more public appearances for the two have been planned: in
\nMadiun, East Java, on April 12 and in Kebumen, Central Java, on
\nApril 20.<\/p>\n
Though appearing at different functions, the two were in
\nPekalongan, the only Central Java town in which PPP won the
\nmajority votes in the 1992 election, on March 26.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, however, said he was not there for Golkar's
\nfunction.<\/p>\n
He retaliated to Ismail's charges by saying that it was the
\nPPP chairman who had discriminated people when recruiting members
\nof the party's central board.<\/p>\n
Ismail had chosen activists who control only 30 percent of
\nIndonesia's Moslem population while neglecting others who were
\nactually representing the remaining 70 percent, he charged.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman said he will accompany senior NU leaders hosting
\nmeetings at the organization's boarding schools with
\nrepresentatives of the three political contestants during the
\nelection campaigning period from April 27 to May 23. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-dur-denies-deflating-minority-ppp-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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