Ismail Hasan, Matori urged to step down

JAKARTA (JP): A vocal legislator from the United Development Party (PPP) says that party chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum and secretary general Matori Abdul Djalil should step down and make way for others to run the party.

Sri Bintang Pamungkas said the two men, who are seen as strong contenders for the PPP chairmanship election next month, have failed to turn the party into an organization independent of the government.

"We've had enough of Ismail Hasan and Matori. They should make way for others to lead the party," Bintang told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He said both men may have succeeded in forging unity in the party, which has often been torn by internal bickering, but they failed to make PPP independent.

As an example of the PPP's lack of independence, he cited the poor response given by party leaders to the government's ban of three news magazines last month. Then, the party leaders simply stated that they could understand the government move, he recalled.

The incumbent Ismail Hasan currently appears to have the upper hand in the run up to the election to be held at the party's congress slated for the end of August in Jakarta.

He has already secured the support of leaders of many provincial boards and also, according to some political analysts, the tacit backing of the government despite official assurances of a hands off policy.

Matori is counting the support of the Nahdlatul Ulama, by far the largest of the factions in the party whose leaders have made it known of their intention to wrest the party's leadership.

Bintang, a newcomer to the PPP who often speaks his mind, said neither Ismail Hasan nor Matori have met the expectation of party members to make PPP into a great party, a viable alternative to Golkar, instead of simply playing second fiddle to the ruling political group.

"During the last five years, PPP has not shown that it has any potential or the fighting spirit," he said. "The party has contributed nothing to cause of Moslems or the Indonesian people in general. It has contributed nothing to democracy."

More cash

Bintang has been mentioned by some party insiders as a possible candidate because of his outspokenness, a sharp contrast to the conservative leadership of Ismail Hasan.

The party is now under pressure to find a more populist leader to match the charisma of Megawati Soekarnoputri who was elected chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in December.

Asked about his chances at the PPP election, Bintang said he was ready to lead the party. "More and more people have given me their support."

Meanwhile, the government on Saturday promised that more cash is on the way to help PPP raise the Rp 1.5 billion it needs to the congress.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said that the government's assistance would be more than the Rp 10 million already pledged so far.

"The government wants to be fair," he told reporters after opening a seminar on justice here.

As a comparison, the government gave PDI around Rp 800 million to stage its congress in Surabaya, East Java last year.

Moerdiono said the government has always helped political organizations and mass organizations in holding their congresses.

"We help them all," he said. "We take note to their request, scrutinize how much they need and then we help them. But it does not mean that we would give the whole amount," he said.

Meanwhile, Antara quoted the party's chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum as saying that there was no longer any problem regarding the funds for the congress because the State Secretariat has pledged to lend a hand.

He said that the funds allocated by the government would be sufficient after the organizers cut down the budget. (11/par)