NU sets up new political party

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has announced the establishment of the Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (National Awakening Party) to give voice to the political aspirations of its members.

The party will welcome people from any religion.

Deputy chairman of the Syuriyah (law-making body), K.H. Ma'ruf Amin, said in a media conference yesterday that the existing political organizations had ignored the presence of NU as a strong political element in the country.

"NU members need to have a political party of their own because there have been no political forces able or willing to accommodate their aspirations," he said.

NU was established in 1926 as a socio-religious organization and now boasts 40 million members. It was formerly a powerful political party before merging with three other Moslem parties to form the United Development Party (PPP) in 1973.

In 1984, when chairman Abdurrahman Wahid took the helm from Idham Chalid, NU severed its formal ties with the PPP and has since avoided party politics. Many senior NU figures have continued to work for the PPP on an individual basis, but others have joined Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

Ma'ruf, who chairs a five-member team responsible for overseeing the party's establishment, said it would be independent from NU. He added that the decision had been taken in response to growing calls for the organization to reenter the political fray.

"It's better for NU to establish one big political party than to have many small NU-oriented parties," he said. The decision to set up the party was reached in a meeting of NU leaders in Bandung, West Java, on May 5.

The first call for an NU party was raised by the organization's South Sulawesi chapter on May 22, one day after president Soeharto announced his resignation. Other chapters soon followed suit and several even went on to establish their own parties.

The Cirebon chapter in West Java established Partai Kebangkitan Umat (The Moslem Community Awakening Party), while the Purwokerto chapter established Partai Bintang Sembilan (The Nine-Star Party). The symbol of NU is nine stars surrounding a globe.

The smaller parties have indicated that they would dissolve and join any party established by the organization's executive board.

"Officials of the Moslem Community Awakening Party and the Nine-Star Party have told me they will join us," said Arifin Junaidi, chairman of a nine-member team set up to assist the five-member team carry out their duties.

A formal declaration establishing the party will be issued from the residence of NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid tomorrow, after which the complete lineup of its board will be revealed.

A number of influential retired generals and 100 Chinese- Indonesians have been invited to attend.

Names tipped for inclusion in the lineup include former PPP secretary-general Matori Abdul Jalil as chairman. The post of secretary-general is expected to go to Muhaimin Iskandar.

Ma'ruf Amin has been tipped to lead the party's supervisory council and K.H. Cholil Bisri, a leading NU figure in Central Java, is expected to be his deputy.

Asked about the new party's chances in the next general election, Ma'ruf said he was confident it would secure a significant share of the votes.

"We took second position after Golkar when we secured 18.67 percent of the votes in the 1971 general election, despite strong pressure on our members to vote for the ruling political organization," he said, in reference to the time when the old NU party was still contesting general elections.

The People's Awakening Party is only the latest edition to a growing number of new parties set up over the past months in anticipation of a new law on political parties.

For nearly three decades the government kept a tight reign on political activities and only allowed Golkar, PPP and PDI to contest general elections.

But since the resignation of former president Soeharto last May, the government has loosened its grip and allowed people to form political parties at will.

Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid said last week that 42 new political parties had now been established and registered at his office. However, the government has yet to formally recognize any of them. (imn)