Golkar under fire in Bali

DENPASAR, Bali: Golkar came under fire on Tuesday night after party activists used a pura, or minor temple, in Mengwi to pray for "100 percent victory" in next year's election.

Earlier, Hindu evangelist Made Titib, known as a Golkar cadre, upset residents here when he implied that Golkar, which uses the banyan tree as the party symbol, was the party of Hindus.

Ngurah Swastha, a religious observer, accused Golkar activists yesterday of politicizing Hinduism. "The pura belongs to Hindus, not Golkar," he said.

He urged Golkar leaders to stop fooling uneducated locals into taking part in the politicization of the Hindu religion.

He said that Made Titib has "manipulated religious symbols for narrow political purposes".

Banyan leaves are used in Hindu rituals but have nothing to do with the symbol of Golkar, he argued. (23/pan)