Alienated PDI Perjuangan anxious over Islamic caucus
Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle warned on Tuesday a group of Muslim leaders, who had held a series of informal meetings, against forging a coalition to unsettle the government.
The party deputy chairman Roy B.B. Janis said after a regular internal meeting that the ruling party expressed hope that the informal clique being proposed by Muslim-based parties would expand and reach other elements and refrain from challenging the government for the sake of the reform agenda, which remains unfinished.
"We hope there would be a synergy from the caucus with the government as well as other elements of the nation. If the government is not supported or becomes hindered in completing the reform agenda, the economic reforms, eradication of corruption, coalition and nepotism as well as the upholding of law would be further stalled," Roy said.
The party chairwoman President Megawati Soekarnoputri was absent from the meeting as she was in Bali.
National Mandate Party chairman Amien Rais, who is also the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker, has organized at least three meetings with Muslim leaders on various issues, which were aimed at, among other things, building a consensus on their vision for the constitutional amendments. PDI Perjuangan and Indonesian Military/National Police legislators were excluded from the talks.
The first meeting was hosted by Achmad Tirtosudiro, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI), the second at the home of Golkar executive Jusuf Kalla and the third at Amien's house. The next meeting is slated to take place at the residence of United Development Party secretary general Alimarwan Hanan and the fifth at the house of National Awakening Party secretary general Saifullah Yusuf.
A similar political axis foiled Megawati's presidential bid in 1999 despite her party's win in the general elections.
Despite its repeated attempts to play down the move, PDI Perjuangan held a meeting to form a rival coalition last week hosted by chairman of the party's faction at the MPR, Arifin Panigoro. Rumors have it that the leaders discussed efforts to keep Megawati in power until 2004.
Roy said that the meeting at Arifin's residence in South Jakarta, was a regular inter-faction dialog ahead of the upcoming MPR Annual Session in August, which will endorse the fourth amendment to the 1945 Constitution.
PDI Perjuangan deputy secretary general Pramono Anung called a meeting with elements of the group recently and was assured that the exclusive talks were merely to hash out what legislation would be passed at the MPR Annual Session.