Hamzah unchallenged in next PPP race

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.