Muhammadiyah mulls establishing party

Muhammadiyah mulls establishing party

JAKARTA: Muhammadiyah Youth chairman Abdul Mukti said on
Friday that his organization was considering establishing a
political party as the existing parties were unable to
accommodate the aspirations and interest of Muhammadiyah members.

"Several Muhammadiyah leaders and members in PAN, the PPP and
other parties have given positive responses to our suggestion
that we form an alternative party for Muhammadiyah members,"
Abdul was quoted by Antara as saying on Friday.

Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organizations in the
country, claims to have around 30 million members.

The country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama,
established the National Awakening Party (PKB), currently the
sixth biggest party in the country, in 1999.

Abdul said he would bring up the idea at a Muhammadiyah
meeting in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, in December 2004.
-- Antara