Ismail Hasan's reelection by no means certain

Ismail Hasan's reelection by no means certain

JAKARTA (JP): The reelection of Ismail Hasan Metareum as
chairman of the United Development Party (PPP) is by no means
certain as the party begins its congress today.

Leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest faction in the
party, announced on Saturday that it was fielding one candidate
-- Matori Abdul Djalil, who is currently PPP's secretary general.

Meanwhile, Muslimin Indonesia (MI), which has Ismail Hasan as
a member, could not agree on a single candidate. One group in the
faction wants to see Ismail Hasan reelected but another wants to
field Cholil Badawi, a member of the Supreme Advisory Council.

Most of the delegates at the congress arrived at the Haj
Dormitory in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta, last night in time for
this morning's opening ceremony at the Jakarta Hilton Convention
Center.

President Soeharto, who has not attended to state affairs
since he was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, is
scheduled to deliver the keynote address.

The congress itself is scheduled to last until Sept.1.

Banners in green -- the party's color -- are line up on the
main streets leading to the Haj Dormitory, which will also be the
venue of the gathering.

PPP is a 1973 fusion of four Moslem parties -- NU, MI,
Syarikat Islam and Perti. The congress, as in the two previous
gatherings, is expected to be another round of power struggles
between the factions -- most notably between NU and MI.

NU politicians have vowed to wrest the chairmanship from MI.
On Saturday, the group's senior ulemas announced that they were
united in supporting Matori's candidacy.

He is seen as the chief contender against Ismail Hasan, whose
support appeared to waver in the past week with some of his
traditional supporters, including those from MI, pulling the rug
out from under him.

On Saturday night, MI leaders were still bickering about which
candidate to support.

Both Ismail Hasan and Cholil Badawi resisted pressures to back
down and make way for the other. MI insiders said that if the two
men insisted on contesting the election, neither man was likely
to win.

Sritua Siregar, a functionary at PPP central executive board,
believes that the majority of MI favor Cholil over the incumbent.

Sritua said Cholil was preferred because of his experience,
adding that his position as a member of the Supreme Advisory
Council was a ticket for him to gain respect from the government.

Ismail Hasan, however, enjoys strong support from most of the
party's provincial chapters, who could provide him with the
necessary backing at the election.

The congress participants comprise of representatives from
PPP's 27 provincial boards and 292 branch offices, and members of
the current executive board. The election will be carried out by
a team of "formatters", a seven-member board who will deliberate
behind closed doors to decide on the chairman, the secretary
general the 15 other appointments at central executive board.

Sofyan Usman, another member of the PPP central executive
board, cried foul on Saturday because of what he perceived to be
political maneuvers by Ismail Hasan's supporters to ensure his
reelection.

Engineering

Ismail Hasan's camp is trying to steer the congress
proceedings in such a way that the provincial boards' views could
be taken to represent the views of the branches in their
respective provinces.

"This is against the party's stature," he told reporters. "It
is the right of every participant to communicate their point of
view."

"Political engineering is all right, but it will not teach the
cadres anything... If he (Ismail Hasan) wants to win, he must use
methods that are constitutionally approved," he said.

Meanwhile, two candidates have emerged for the secretary
general's appointment, considered to be the second most prominent
position in PPP's leadership board.

Soeleman Fadeli, a functionary at the East Java board, has
been nominated by a number of branches in the province to become
the party's secretary general.

Another candidate is Muhammad Rodja, of PPP Jakarta. A
faithful supporter to Ismail Hasan, Rodja recently launched a
book entitled PPP Problema dan Prospek (PPP's Problems and
Prospects) as part of his campaign for the board seat.

Meanwhile, Hamzah Haz, coordinator of the congress, ruled out
on Saturday the possibility that the government might try to
influence the outcome of the congress by sending their
representatives to the gathering as observers.

The party had earlier ruled that no observers would be
invited.

Meanwhile NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid gave the thumbs up to
PPP vocal legislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas, who is also bidding
for the party's chairmanship from the congress' sidelines.

Bintang was not invited to the parley but has insisted that he
had the support from the party's "undercurrents".

"He keeps on campaigning even though he knows that he cannot
become a congress participant," Abdurrahman said. (par) Editorial
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