Hamzah unchallenged in next PPP race

Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Vice President Hamzah Haz will likely retain his current top position in the United Development Party (PPP) without a challenge during the 2003 party congress as none of the party's other senior figures are planning to contest the leadership race.

He still appears to be the most powerful and influential leader of the nation's third largest party, possibly paving the way for a smooth reelection in the upcoming congress.

Another contributing factor is that many of Hamzah's staunch critics from within PPP had quit the party and established a new one altogether, called PPP Reformasi, which noted Muslim cleric KH Zainuddin M.Z. currently chairs.

"So far, we don't have other figures capable of challenging Pak Hamzah. As the Vice President, he has strong influence and a greater chance of reelection," senior PPP leader Tosari Wijaya told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

His statement comes as the PPP is convening a three-day working meeting in Jakarta this week to decide on the date of next party congress.

Most provincial branches of the party and leaders of its central executive boards, who attended the meeting, wanted the congress held in early 2003, one year before the next general elections.

PPP earlier decided to change the date from the 2003 schedule until after the 2004 election, sparking staunch protests from Zainuddin's allies who then declared PPP Reformasi.

Support for Hamzah's possible reelection also came from other PPP leaders in Jakarta and a few provincial branches during the working meeting.

East Java's PPP chapter voiced its explicit backing for Hamzah to stay on.

"We agree with a proposal to hold the next congress in early 2003 on the condition that Pak Hamzah is maintained as party chairman," a spokesman from the East Java PPP chapter stated during Tuesday's meeting.

Similarly, PPP Secretary General Ali Marwan Hanan who is also the state minister of cooperatives and small and medium enterprises, said if the party wanted to maintain its "solidity" ahead of the 2004 elections, there was no other choice except to back Hamzah.

"The reelection of Pak Hamzah will be crucial in a bid to struggle for the party's interests in the 2004 election," Ali told the Post.

Some party leaders in Jakarta and at regional levels also hope to nominate Hamzah for president.

Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah, a senior member of the party's executive board, said Hamzah had to win a second five-year term to lead the party as he was still needed for the 2004 elections.

Lukman Hakim Saefuddin and Chozin Chumaidy, both PPP legislators, said Hamzah's "charisma" and close relationships with the grassroots voters would make him unbeatable in the upcoming leadership race.

The Vice President had sparked controversy after he visited detained Laskar Jihad militant group leader Ja'far Umar Thalib and Abu Bakar Ba'asyir who has been accused by Malaysia and Singapore of having close ties with a regional terrorist network.

Analysts say the visits were Hamzah's way of soliciting support from Muslim hard-liners in the 2004 elections.