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