New party offers free education

New party offers free education

SURABAYA: The newly established United Regional Party (PPD) is offering free education and health services in a campaign to attract recruits and to lure voters in the general elections next year.

Party chairman Oesman Sapta said on Friday that his party would be an instrument for regions to convey their aspirations.

Oesman, who is a deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), promised his party's executive board would never intervene in decisions made by its regional chapters.

He said the PPD was ready to be verified to be legible to contest the 2004 elections, claiming that it had 28 provincial chapters across the country.

Oesman, who was accompanied by PPD's East Java chapter chairman Andi Matulessi, was speaking during his visit to Surabaya to meet party cadres and disclose the party's programs.

He refused to say how many votes the party was targeting in the elections. --Antara