Ismail fears his party is heading for last place in poll

JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the Moslem-oriented United Development Party (PPP) Ismail Hasan Metareum expressed concern yesterday that his party will end up a wooden spoon in the 1997 general election.

"It would be ironic if in this Moslem-majority country, the PPP, which carries the aspiration of Moslems, gets last place in the elections," he was quoted by Antara as saying in Bandar Lampung, Lampung, yesterday.

He called on party executives to work even harder in garnering public support for PPP. "We need to engage in some introspection," he said. "Please work harder to make people love this party more."

"Mind you, love is not enough. We have to strive to make this party move along with the people, so that their love becomes even greater.

"I don't think any Moslem would like it if this party were to 'sink'," he said.

Some observers believe that the PPP may face difficulties in attracting Moslems in the 1997 elections because the other two contestants -- the ruling Golkar and the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) -- have come up with programs which also appeal to Moslems.

In the 1982 general elections, the PPP won 94, or 26.1 percent, of the 500 House of Representatives seats, while Golkar won 242, or 67.2 percent, and PDI got 24, or 5.7 percent.

In 1987, the PPP saw public support for it decline to 61 seats (15.3 percent), while Golkar won a whopping 299 (74.7 percent) and PDI won 40 seats (10 percent).

In 1992, the PPP won 62 seats or 15.4 percent of the votes, while Golkar got 282 seats (70.5 percent) and PDI 56 seats (14 percent). (swe)