No need to form a new political party: Soeharto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday dismissed recent
\nattempts to form a new political party when he said that the
\nexisting three parties are adequate.<\/p>\n
\"Let's not have any more aspirations for a new party,\"
\nSoeharto was quoted by Abdul Gafur, a deputy chief of the ruling
\nGolkar, as saying.<\/p>\n
Gafur, in his capacity as chairman of Gakpi, an organization
\naffiliated with Golkar, reported to the President about the
\norganization's national meeting on June 24.<\/p>\n
Soeharto said that the nation once had nine political parties
\nand Golkar. A national consensus was then reached in 1973 to
\nconsolidate the groupings into three: the Moslem-based United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP), the nationalist-Christian alliance
\nIndonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and Golkar.<\/p>\n
The decision was taken to maintain national stability,
\nSoeharto pointed out.<\/p>\n
Spearheaded by outspoken politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas, a
\ngroup of people have been reportedly making preparations to form
\na new political party. Citing the inadequacy of the existing
\nparties to voice people's aspirations, Bintang said he has been
\ncontacting some groups and building support for his endeavors.<\/p>\n
Apart from expressing opposition to the plan to form a new
\npolitical party, the President noted that there were groups in
\nsociety who gauged the successes and failures of national
\ndevelopment by Western standards.<\/p>\n
\"The President was aware of a group of people who try to adopt
\nother people's thinking -- Western thinking,\" said Gafur.<\/p>\n
He added that those people also saw the nation's development
\nas a complete failure, because there were marked disparities
\namong social groups. \"This is all untrue,\" remarked Gafur.<\/p>\n
Gafur would not reveal the identities of the people in
\nquestion, but when asked whether they included intellectuals, he
\nreplied: \"Highly intellectual individuals.\"<\/p>\n
\"These people have to be approached through dialogs,\" Gafur,
\na former minister of youth affairs, said.<\/p>\n
He said the President pointed out, however, that the majority
\nof the Indonesian people were still faithful to the 1945
\nConstitution and democracy based on the state ideology,
\nPancasila.<\/p>\n
Gafur quoted Soeharto as saying that while freedom is
\nguaranteed in the Constitution, there are rules which must be
\nobeyed.<\/p>\n
\"If you go through a red light, you will be arrested,\" Gafur
\nsaid in an analogy. (mds)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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