Parsendi: A joker in the pack

Parsendi: A joker in the pack

JAKARTA (JP): Other political parties may have recruited
celebrities as their campaigners, but the Party of Artistes and
Comediennes (Parsendi) is in fact chaired by illiterate comedian
Sri "Milko" Mulyati.

The party was founded in the Central Java town of Surakarta
by, among others, Murtidjono, who is a philosophy school
graduate. Two of its executives, Achmad Solechan Wachid and
Ariyanto Heru Laksono, are both students of medical nuclear
technology at the University of Indonesia's School of Natural
Sciences and Math.

"History shows artists and comedians have in the past been
used by political parties to further their interests, without
knowing the ideologies and visions of the organizations,"
Solechan said as quoted by Ali@nsi tabloid recently. "This party
was founded to accommodate the outrage, irritation, fears and
hopes of the artists and comedians."

Parsendi, with its 180 members, is not contesting the general
election because, Solechan said, "when the other parties went to
register at the Ministry of Justice, we mistakenly went to the
police station."

"Actually, Bu Milko wanted to go and register the party on the
last day, but she was afraid of flying. So she canceled the
plan."

When asked why they chose an illiterate person to be their
leader, Solechan said that some highly intelligent artists such
as journalist/puppet master H. Sudjiwo Tejo and Dono of the
Warkop group refused the position.

"Other parties have professors and doctors as their chairmen,
so we chose an illiterate woman," he said. "This also to show how
the New Order regime failed to educate its people, so much so
that a party chairperson in this age is illiterate."

When asked for comment about Soeharto, Solechan said: "We take
our hats off to Pak Harto. He really was a great teacher for the
nation... because he successfully created a very enduring
destructive system." (swe)