NU politicians send warning to PPP leadership

JAKARTA (JP): Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leaders have sent their strongest signal yet that they intend to win the leadership election at the United Development Party (PPP) in August.

PPP legislators associated with NU held a private gathering at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah park on Thursday night to discuss strategy for the party's chairmanship election, the main item on the agenda for the August congress.

Hamzah Haz, a member of the PPP faction in the House of Representatives who hosted the gathering, denied that the NU will be gunning for the PPP chair.

But at the same time he said that the attendants at the meeting agreed that "there was nothing wrong with the NU assuming the PPP top post" given that NU provides the party with its largest political base.

Imam Churmen, a senior NU politician, was more forthcoming. "I think it is only appropriate that someone from NU becomes the party chairman next time round."

He added that the meeting discussed strategy for NU politicians so that they would come out with one voice and not fight one another.

Yusuf Hasyim said NU has the key to winning the chairmanship election with its strong power base.

"The congress is like a card game and NU has an ace in the hole," Yusuf said. "It would be such a waste if NU didn't use its trump card."

Kholil Bishri said the meeting agreed that NU should take the chair. "Who that should be, we don't know yet. There will be a meeting in Rembang (Central Java) in May."

NU, still Indonesia's largest Moslem organization, formally abandoned politics in 1984 when it announced that it was going back to its original objective of promoting religion and education.

Although NU was the largest of the four parties that merged to become the PPP, the chairmanship post has always gone to the smaller factions, creating frustration among NU leaders who feel that they have been used for their mass mobilization at election time but have never been given a real say in the party's affairs.

The PPP leadership has always been held by Muslimin Indonesia, a faction considered to be the closest to the government, which has exerted influence on past party elections.

The other two factions in the PPP are Perti and Parmusi.

After 1984, many NU leaders and supporters remained loyal to the PPP although some of them have crossed the line and supported Golkar, the ruling political organization.

PPP, which has been a distant second to Golkar in the past five general elections, is now under pressure to elect a more popular leader than the present conservative chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum, whose term ends in August.

The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), the smallest of the three recognized political parties, has boosted its image and popularity with the December election of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the daughter of former president Sukarno. Golkar last October elected Harmoko, the minister of information and an expert on mass communications.

NU leaders however are torn on whether they should make a return to the political arena.

NU Chairman Abdurrahman Wahid has said the organization should stick firmly to its 1984 commitment, but others are urging the NU to seize the opportunity now that PPP has come under strong pressure.

The widely popular Abdurrahman, a controversial and often vocal critic of the government, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the PPP chair. Matori Abdul Jalil, the current PPP secretary general who is also identified with NU, and Hamzah Haz are also possible contenders.

Hamzah said there was no discussion at the Taman Mini meeting on any particular candidate for the PPP chairmanship.

He said that it is not the intention of NU to use the upcoming congress as a show of force. "NU's main concern is that the PPP can become a big party."

The meeting was attended by about 70 people, including NU- affiliated legislators and ulemas. Among them were Yusuf Hasim, Syamsuri Badawi, Karmani, Matori Abdul Jalil and Imam Churmen.

NU leaders at the meeting also pointed out that Muslimin Indonesia has already held two meetings to discuss their strategy for the PPP congress. (emb/07)