PPP hit by internal rift over election schedule<\/p>\n
Abu Hanifah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The United Development Party (PPP) announced on Sunday that it
\nwould assign Husni Thamrin, one of the party's central board
\nmembers, to attend a meeting being held by renegade members of
\nthe party's branch offices in Yogyakarta on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"As Husni Thamrin is the only executive invited to the
\nmeeting, we will let him go. He is expected to gather inputs from
\nthe meeting for us,\" PPP's central board chairman Zein Badjeber
\nsaid after a hasty meeting at PPP headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro,
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Sunday's meeting at PPP headquarters was attended by 16 of the
\n27 executives on the central board. PPP chairman Hamzah Haz, who
\nis also the Vice President, failed to show up.<\/p>\n
Zein denied speculation that Husni had been assigned to meet
\nwith the renegade members, saying that such talks were not on the
\nagenda.<\/p>\n
\"This is not an ishlah (reconciliation) meeting. It is just a
\nregular PPP chapters' meeting,\" Zein told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
A renegade faction in PPP, which is not satisfied with the way
\nthe party is being led, threatened in the Central Java city of
\nSurakarta last week to establish a splinter party called \"PPP
\nreformasi\".<\/p>\n
The faction, which claimed to be supported by 13 PPP chapters
\nthroughout the country, demanded that the PPP central board
\nrevoke its decision to hold the chairmanship election after the
\n2004 general election.<\/p>\n
The central board should accelerate the chairmanship election
\nto 2002 to provide young cadres in the party with a greater
\nchance of replacing the older, existing executives, according to
\nthe faction.<\/p>\n
They feared that, if the election was conducted after the 2004
\ngeneral election, older officials would exploit the situation to
\nhold on to their posts.<\/p>\n
They warned that if the central board failed to respond to
\ntheir invitation to attend the chapters' meeting in Yogyakarta on
\nMonday, they would go ahead with their threat.<\/p>\n
They have even produced a party symbol and flag that resemble
\nthe PPP's. Its spokesman, Zainal Mu'arif, said that PPP Reformasi
\nwould be led by Zainuddin M.Z., a PPP executive of the NU
\nfaction.<\/p>\n
An analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI),
\nIndria Samego, said that the threat should not be taken too
\nseriously.<\/p>\n
\"It's just being conducted by a small faction in the party
\nthat is not satisfied with the party's policy,\" Indria said,
\nadding it was a genuine movement in the party that was demanding
\nchanges in the party's organization.<\/p>\n
Dja'far Badjeber, chairman of the PPP's Jakarta chapter, who
\nsupports the defiant faction in the PPP, said that besides
\nviolating the party's agreement, the chairmanship election
\nschedule was also likely to stifle regeneration in the PPP.<\/p>\n
\"The decision to hold the chairmanship election in 2004
\nviolates the agreement that had been reached at last years's
\nmeeting... Besides, there would be no regeneration in the party
\nif the congress were convened in 2004,\" Dja'far said.<\/p>\n
Dja'far said the demand to replace old figures in the party
\nhad to be met since there would be tighter competition among
\npolitical parties in the future.<\/p>\n
\"The party needs the power of the young cadres and to renew
\nits management to compete in the future political constellation,\"
\nDja'far said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ppp-hit-by-internal-rift-over-election-schedule-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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