Alienated PDI Perjuangan anxious over Islamic caucus
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.