Justice Party calls for contemplation
Justice Party calls for contemplation
JAKARTA (JP): The Islamic-based Justice Party (PK) has called
on political and community leaders to use the upcoming fasting
month as a time for contemplation and to improve themselves.
"All leaders, experts and economic practitioners should stop
expressing controversial statements, opinions, behavior and
policy. They should all seek God's mercy," said PK chairman M.
Hidayat Nur Wahid at PK's religious gathering at Ragunan, South
Jakarta, on Sunday.
The gathering was held to welcome the fasting month, which
starts on Nov. 27, and was attended by over 1,000 people,
including several notable religious leaders like former
Indonesian Council of Ulemas chairman Ali Yafie, Nahdlatul Ulama
central board chairman Salahudin Wahid and former party chairman
Nurmahmudi Ismail, who is currently junior minister for forestry.
Without directly calling on the President to resign, Hidayat
urged Abdurrahman Wahid to face calls for his resignation and
other criticism as objectively and as fairly as possible.
"The demand is realistic and appropriate because his
government has yet to accommodate and protect the Indonesian
people," he said.
Therefore, Hidayat added, Abdurrahman must reevaluate his
ability to lead the country and put its interest above anything
else.
"Gus Dur (as the President is popularly known) should not be
over confident, and challenge or underestimate his critics. We
urge him to use his conscience and conduct istikharah prayer to
ask God whether he is still qualified to be a leader or not," he
said.
Gus Dur's influence as a leader, Hidayat said, is questionable
following the failure of the National Police and the Attorney
General's Office to arrest former president Soeharto's son Hutomo
Mandala Putra, who is known as Tommy.
Hidayat said the Justice Party neither supports nor disagrees
with calls for Abdurrahman to resign as the matter is more of a
constitutional discourse.
"That's the job of People's Consultative Assembly and House of
Representatives. Both should be sensitive to the peoples' demands
and should ask for the government's accountability," he said.
The Justice Party, he added, sees the upcoming fasting month
as the last opportunity for leaders to contemplate and improve
themselves.
"If not, we may urge that the matter be up on a constitutional
level," he said.
Separately, Salahudin, who is also Abdurrahman's younger
brother, said that there is no constitutional reason for the
President to resign.
"Therefore, a special session of the Assembly is unlikely to
happen as there is no reason to," he said.(hdn)
JAKARTA (JP): The Islamic-based Justice Party (PK) has called
on political and community leaders to use the upcoming fasting
month as a time for contemplation and to improve themselves.
"All leaders, experts and economic practitioners should stop
expressing controversial statements, opinions, behavior and
policy. They should all seek God's mercy," said PK chairman M.
Hidayat Nur Wahid at PK's religious gathering at Ragunan, South
Jakarta, on Sunday.
The gathering was held to welcome the fasting month, which
starts on Nov. 27, and was attended by over 1,000 people,
including several notable religious leaders like former
Indonesian Council of Ulemas chairman Ali Yafie, Nahdlatul Ulama
central board chairman Salahudin Wahid and former party chairman
Nurmahmudi Ismail, who is currently junior minister for forestry.
Without directly calling on the President to resign, Hidayat
urged Abdurrahman Wahid to face calls for his resignation and
other criticism as objectively and as fairly as possible.
"The demand is realistic and appropriate because his
government has yet to accommodate and protect the Indonesian
people," he said.
Therefore, Hidayat added, Abdurrahman must reevaluate his
ability to lead the country and put its interest above anything
else.
"Gus Dur (as the President is popularly known) should not be
over confident, and challenge or underestimate his critics. We
urge him to use his conscience and conduct istikharah prayer to
ask God whether he is still qualified to be a leader or not," he
said.
Gus Dur's influence as a leader, Hidayat said, is questionable
following the failure of the National Police and the Attorney
General's Office to arrest former president Soeharto's son Hutomo
Mandala Putra, who is known as Tommy.
Hidayat said the Justice Party neither supports nor disagrees
with calls for Abdurrahman to resign as the matter is more of a
constitutional discourse.
"That's the job of People's Consultative Assembly and House of
Representatives. Both should be sensitive to the peoples' demands
and should ask for the government's accountability," he said.
The Justice Party, he added, sees the upcoming fasting month
as the last opportunity for leaders to contemplate and improve
themselves.
"If not, we may urge that the matter be up on a constitutional
level," he said.
Separately, Salahudin, who is also Abdurrahman's younger
brother, said that there is no constitutional reason for the
President to resign.
"Therefore, a special session of the Assembly is unlikely to
happen as there is no reason to," he said.(hdn)