Ismail Hasan's reelection by no means certain<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The reelection of Ismail Hasan Metareum as
\nchairman of the United Development Party (PPP) is by no means
\ncertain as the party begins its congress today.<\/p>\n
Leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest faction in the
\nparty, announced on Saturday that it was fielding one candidate
\n-- Matori Abdul Djalil, who is currently PPP's secretary general.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Muslimin Indonesia (MI), which has Ismail Hasan as
\na member, could not agree on a single candidate. One group in the
\nfaction wants to see Ismail Hasan reelected but another wants to
\nfield Cholil Badawi, a member of the Supreme Advisory Council.<\/p>\n
Most of the delegates at the congress arrived at the Haj
\nDormitory in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta, last night in time for
\nthis morning's opening ceremony at the Jakarta Hilton Convention
\nCenter.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto, who has not attended to state affairs
\nsince he was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, is
\nscheduled to deliver the keynote address.<\/p>\n
The congress itself is scheduled to last until Sept.1.<\/p>\n
Banners in green -- the party's color -- are line up on the
\nmain streets leading to the Haj Dormitory, which will also be the
\nvenue of the gathering.<\/p>\n
PPP is a 1973 fusion of four Moslem parties -- NU, MI,
\nSyarikat Islam and Perti. The congress, as in the two previous
\ngatherings, is expected to be another round of power struggles
\nbetween the factions -- most notably between NU and MI.<\/p>\n
NU politicians have vowed to wrest the chairmanship from MI.
\nOn Saturday, the group's senior ulemas announced that they were
\nunited in supporting Matori's candidacy.<\/p>\n
He is seen as the chief contender against Ismail Hasan, whose
\nsupport appeared to waver in the past week with some of his
\ntraditional supporters, including those from MI, pulling the rug
\nout from under him.<\/p>\n
On Saturday night, MI leaders were still bickering about which
\ncandidate to support.<\/p>\n
Both Ismail Hasan and Cholil Badawi resisted pressures to back
\ndown and make way for the other. MI insiders said that if the two
\nmen insisted on contesting the election, neither man was likely
\nto win.<\/p>\n
Sritua Siregar, a functionary at PPP central executive board,
\nbelieves that the majority of MI favor Cholil over the incumbent.<\/p>\n
Sritua said Cholil was preferred because of his experience,
\nadding that his position as a member of the Supreme Advisory
\nCouncil was a ticket for him to gain respect from the government.<\/p>\n
Ismail Hasan, however, enjoys strong support from most of the
\nparty's provincial chapters, who could provide him with the
\nnecessary backing at the election.<\/p>\n
The congress participants comprise of representatives from
\nPPP's 27 provincial boards and 292 branch offices, and members of
\nthe current executive board. The election will be carried out by
\na team of \"formatters\", a seven-member board who will deliberate
\nbehind closed doors to decide on the chairman, the secretary
\ngeneral the 15 other appointments at central executive board.<\/p>\n
Sofyan Usman, another member of the PPP central executive
\nboard, cried foul on Saturday because of what he perceived to be
\npolitical maneuvers by Ismail Hasan's supporters to ensure his
\nreelection.<\/p>\n
Engineering<\/p>\n
Ismail Hasan's camp is trying to steer the congress
\nproceedings in such a way that the provincial boards' views could
\nbe taken to represent the views of the branches in their
\nrespective provinces.<\/p>\n
\"This is against the party's stature,\" he told reporters. \"It
\nis the right of every participant to communicate their point of
\nview.\"<\/p>\n
\"Political engineering is all right, but it will not teach the
\ncadres anything... If he (Ismail Hasan) wants to win, he must use
\nmethods that are constitutionally approved,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, two candidates have emerged for the secretary
\ngeneral's appointment, considered to be the second most prominent
\nposition in PPP's leadership board.<\/p>\n
Soeleman Fadeli, a functionary at the East Java board, has
\nbeen nominated by a number of branches in the province to become
\nthe party's secretary general.<\/p>\n
Another candidate is Muhammad Rodja, of PPP Jakarta. A
\nfaithful supporter to Ismail Hasan, Rodja recently launched a
\nbook entitled PPP Problema dan Prospek (PPP's Problems and
\nProspects) as part of his campaign for the board seat.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hamzah Haz, coordinator of the congress, ruled out
\non Saturday the possibility that the government might try to
\ninfluence the outcome of the congress by sending their
\nrepresentatives to the gathering as observers.<\/p>\n
The party had earlier ruled that no observers would be
\ninvited.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid gave the thumbs up to
\nPPP vocal legislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas, who is also bidding
\nfor the party's chairmanship from the congress' sidelines.<\/p>\n
Bintang was not invited to the parley but has insisted that he
\nhad the support from the party's \"undercurrents\".<\/p>\n
\"He keeps on campaigning even though he knows that he cannot
\nbecome a congress participant,\" Abdurrahman said. (par) Editorial
\n-- Page 4 Leadership -- Page 2<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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