Not voting would be sinful: Moslem group

JAKARTA (JP): Moslems, who constitute about 90 percent of the Indonesian population, were urged yesterday to stay away from campaigns to boycott the May 29 general election.

Religious leaders also advised Moslems to ignore calls to join street demonstrations aimed at creating chaos with the eventual purpose of derailing the election.

In the East Java town of Jember, Pembina Imam Tauhid Islam (PITI), stated that not to vote in the upcoming election would be sinful, according to Islamic teaching.

The Chairman of PITI, formerly the Association of Islamic Chinese founded in 1964, Abdul Halim Muhammad Zein said the organization was making it obligatory for its 8,500 members to vote in the general election.

Chalid Mawardi, leader of Majelis Dakwah Islamiyah (MDI), said some people had misused the democratization issue to promote their individual political agendas through unruly means.

The interest groups, he said, wanted to disrupt the general election and the 1998 presidential election and change the Indonesian political system.

MDI, which is affiliated to the government-backed Golkar political grouping, praised the authorities for clamping down on people who sought to subvert the state through pamphlets and books.

Chalid did not name the political agitators. Last week, the government arrested the Indonesian Democratic Union Party leader, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, and two of its senior activists. Also questioned by government prosecutors was Subadio Sastrosatomo, the writer of Soebadio Rejects the New Order Government's Engineering which allegedly discredits the government and the military.

A series of religious conflicts and anti-Chinese riots has rocked Java over the past few months. At least 10 people were killed, dozens of churches torched, hundreds of shops set on fire and many police posts attacked.

In Bogor, West Java Governor R. Nuriana warned the public Saturday of anonymous pamphlets being circulated instigating people to boycott the general election.

Nuriana said the leaflets had been produced by irresponsible people who wanted to see Indonesia fragmented by setting different religious groups against each other.

Last week, the Bogor authorities seized 17 leaflets. One read, "The election is not worth pursuing: Boycott it".

They summoned Hari Soba, an activist of the unrecognized Independent election Monitoring Committee for questioning but he refused to appear. (pan/24)