Ismail Hasan must placate NU: Analysts<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The future of the United Development Party (PPP)
\ncould be jeopardized if chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum, who was
\nreelected to the post after a bitter fight at the party's
\ncongress this week, fails to placate the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
\nanalysts say.<\/p>\n
They maintain that Ismail Hasan's reelection could alienate
\nthe NU, by far the largest faction in the Moslem-based party,
\nafter its bid to oust the incumbent chairman failed.<\/p>\n
The party's future is now at stake and Ismail Hasan must mend
\nfences with NU, said Maswadi Rauf, a staff lecturer at the School
\nof Social and Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Maswadi underlined that NU boasts 35 million members in
\nIndonesia. \"NU's role in the PPP cannot be taken for granted,\" he
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Amir Santoso, also from the University of Indonesia, warned
\nthat NU might have been left bitter by the defeat. \"Ismail Hasan
\nneeds to placate the ulemas to make sure that they don't campaign
\nagainst PPP in the 1997 election.\"<\/p>\n
Ismail Hasan hails from Muslimin Indonesia, which has
\ndominated the party's leadership.<\/p>\n
He was named head of the party's 21-strong central executive
\nboard for a second five-year term by a seven-person electoral
\ncouncil which he himself headed.<\/p>\n
Two council members, Matori Abdul Djalil and Syansuri Badawi,
\nboth from NU, declined to endorse the board's selection after the
\nother five members, all from MI, refused to accept the list of NU
\nfigures presented by the two.<\/p>\n
The MI's council members instead selected seven NU figures to
\nbe named to the central executive board.<\/p>\n
Maswadi said Ismail Hasan's first priority would be to
\napproach Matori, his main rival in this week's election, because
\nhe still commands strong influence within the NU faction.<\/p>\n
Matori lost not only the election, but also his seat on the
\nexecutive board. He was previously the secretary general but had
\ndistanced himself from Ismail Hasan in the weeks preceding the
\ncongress.<\/p>\n
\"It is possible that PPP's support could decline if the
\nchairman fails to embrace NU,\" Maswadi said.<\/p>\n
He also warned Ismail Hasan not to \"rid\" the party of NU
\nelements.<\/p>\n
He warned that the NU ulemas could boycott the party in the
\nfuture to protest the way their representatives were treated at
\nthe congress.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid described the new
\nboard as \"elitist and lacking grassroots support.\"<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, told reporters that
\nthe new line-up would not be able to court young voters at the
\nnext general election.<\/p>\n
PPP has enjoyed moderate support from young voters displeased
\nwith Golkar. But in the 1997 election, these young people would
\nturn to PDI instead of PPP, he said.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman said the ulemas might lose confidence in the
\nparty. \"I admit that it is too early for me to make such a
\nprediction. But I call on the voters to go to the PDI instead of
\nshunning the election,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Reconciliation was indeed one of the first things that came to
\nIsmail Hasan's mind. Shortly after his victory Thursday night, he
\ntold reporters that he bore no grudges against Matori and the
\nother contenders for the chairmanship.<\/p>\n
He also promised not to remove Matori and Sri Bintang
\nPamungkas from the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
Bintang, a young PPP legislator, launched a bid from the
\ncongress's sidelines to unseat Ismail Hasan, and received the
\nsupport of the young people in the process.<\/p>\n
\"I say once again that they will not be recalled. But if they
\ntrespass across the line and principles fought and accepted by
\nthe party, the case will be different,\" Ismail Hasan said.<\/p>\n
He said the disaffected candidates could vent their anger at
\nhim, but not on the other leaders or the party.<\/p>\n
Darmanto Yatman, a political observer from the Semarang-based
\nDiponegoro University in Central Java, said that retaining the
\nold policy was the most realistic course of action given the
\npresent situation.<\/p>\n
He believes that the PPP needs someone like Ismail Hasan,
\nsaying that it is the only way for the party to survive at a time
\nwhen controls from the authorities are still being felt.<\/p>\n
Darmanto however questioned the exclusion of Matori and
\nBintang from the new executive board.<\/p>\n
Another observer, Fachry Ali, said he was optimistic that PPP
\nwould retain its second position at the next general election.<\/p>\n
He told Antara that the line-up of the new board has already
\naccommodated the interests of all the factions, including the NU
\nand the radical elements within the party.<\/p>\n
He said the party's election chances in 1997 depend more on
\nhow well the new leadership prepares the party than on the make-
\nup of the board.<\/p>\n
Dean of the School of Social and Political Sciences of the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, M. Budyatna, said that given a chance,
\nMI would be separated from NU.<\/p>\n
He believed that the government was aware that it would be
\ndifficult for the two factions to stand united. \"It is possible
\nthat MI will emerge as a party,\" he told Antara. (par)<\/p>",
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