NU sets up new political party

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)