Ismail fears his party is heading for last place in poll<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the Moslem-oriented United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) Ismail Hasan Metareum expressed concern
\nyesterday that his party will end up a wooden spoon in the 1997
\ngeneral election.<\/p>\n
\"It would be ironic if in this Moslem-majority country, the
\nPPP, which carries the aspiration of Moslems, gets last place in
\nthe elections,\" he was quoted by Antara as saying in Bandar
\nLampung, Lampung, yesterday.<\/p>\n
He called on party executives to work even harder in garnering
\npublic support for PPP. \"We need to engage in some
\nintrospection,\" he said. \"Please work harder to make people love
\nthis party more.\"<\/p>\n
\"Mind you, love is not enough. We have to strive to make this
\nparty move along with the people, so that their love becomes even
\ngreater.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think any Moslem would like it if this party were to
\n'sink',\" he said.<\/p>\n
Some observers believe that the PPP may face difficulties in
\nattracting Moslems in the 1997 elections because the other two
\ncontestants -- the ruling Golkar and the nationalist Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) -- have come up with programs which also
\nappeal to Moslems.<\/p>\n
In the 1982 general elections, the PPP won 94, or 26.1
\npercent, of the 500 House of Representatives seats, while Golkar
\nwon 242, or 67.2 percent, and PDI got 24, or 5.7 percent.<\/p>\n
In 1987, the PPP saw public support for it decline to 61 seats
\n(15.3 percent), while Golkar won a whopping 299 (74.7 percent)
\nand PDI won 40 seats (10 percent).<\/p>\n
In 1992, the PPP won 62 seats or 15.4 percent of the votes,
\nwhile Golkar got 282 seats (70.5 percent) and PDI 56 seats (14
\npercent). (swe)<\/p>",
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