Moslem group joins glut of new parties

Moslem group joins glut of new parties

JAKARTA (JP): Another new political party, the Crescent Star
Party, or Partai Bulan Bintang, joined the country's plethora of
new political parties when it was launched here yesterday.

Chaired by University of Indonesia constitutional law expert
Yusril Ihza Mahendra, the party -- which took its name from the
symbol of Islam -- proclaimed itself ready to fight for seats in
the general election scheduled for May next year.

"We will fight for a good system, not an individual to be
president, because we believe that without a good system -- with
the country depending too much on the charisma of one person --
we will end up with another dictator ruling the country," Yusril
said.

He said the party was based on the state Pancasila ideology
and the 1945 Constitution and would fight for the interests of
all citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs.

"The party will be open to all citizens regardless of their
religion, as long as they agree with the party's principles,"
Yusril said.

He claimed the genesis of the party could be traced back to
1989 with the ground work laid out by the Indonesian Moslem
Coordination Board (BKUI) chaired by senior Moslem politician
Anwar Harjono.

Anwar Harjono, a former member of the now-defunct Masjumi
party -- the runner-up in the 1955 general election to Sukarno's
Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) -- is a patron of the new
party.

Hartono Mardjono, Cholil Ridwan, Anwar Sanusi, Ahmad
Sumargono, Abdul Qodir Djaelani and Fadli Zon sit on the new
party's executive board.

Anwar Harjono, who gave a speech at the launch held in Al
Azhar Mosque in South Jakarta yesterday, said the party had been
established by individuals, not by groups.

Anwar was referring to the 21 signatories to the party's
declaration, who include Ahmad Sumargono and Abdul Qodir Djaelani
from the Indonesian Committee for World Moslem Solidarity (KISDI)
and Eggy Sudjana from the Association of Indonesian Moslem
Intellectuals (ICMI).

More than 40 political parties have been set up since
Soeharto's resignation from the presidency on May 21. (aan)