Parties against MUI call for vote support

Parties against MUI call for vote support

JAKARTA (JP): Party leaders expressed strong opposition on
Wednesday against the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) call
that Muslims vote for Islamic parties, saying the exhortation
would polarize the country.

Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party (PAN) raised alarm
over what he believed were indications that parties were being
polarized into Muslims versus nationalism-secular powers, at the
expense of the reform movement.

Sri Bintang Pamungkas of the Indonesian Democratic Union Party
(PUDI) said the council's call had "no moral ground" and would
sharpen religious differences, while Golkar deputy chairman
Marzuki Darusman said it smacked of the old political scene when
people were pigeon-holed into different religious, social and
cultural backgrounds.

Leader of National Awakening Party (PKB) Abdurrahman Wahid
plans to issue his statement on the issue on Thursday.

Amien said: "I am very concerned with the latest development
in our country's politics as there are indications that parties
have moved towards polarization."

"This could jeopardize the country's future and hamper the
process of total reforms after Soeharto's resignation last year,"
Amien said at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta
before leaving for a campaign safari in a helicopter.

"I think parties must stick together and avoid polarization.
If the polarization only concerns stembus akoord (vote-sharing
deal), that's fine, because that deal is made to avoid wasted
votes."

"But if the polarization crystallizes all elements of the
society into two opposing forces -- the Islamic power on one side
and the nationalist-secular camp on the other side, it will be
very dangerous and could lead to further disputes," Amien said.

He warned that if such polarization was allowed to form, it
would then be difficult to build a bridge between the two groups.

"Do not get trapped in petty political conflicts."

"There are only two choices, one is to leave Soeharto and all
remnants of his regime behind, and the second is to move toward a
new democratic Indonesia," he said.

Amien said he did not oppose the stembus akoord between
political parties. "But if PAN is dragged into that polarization,
we're not interested."

Marzuki suggested that ulemas council chairman Ali Yafie
clarify the statement. "Pak Ali Yafie must clarify his statement,
whether it was his personal opinion or MUI's as an institution,"
he told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

"People may misunderstand that MUI politicize religious
matters," he said. "It could remind the people of exclusive
actions and policies of the past, which categorized people
according to their religions and sociocultural backgrounds."

Marzuki, who is also chairman of the National Commission on
Human Rights, said Indonesia does not recognize religious
majority in politics; instead, it respects democratic principles.

Bintang said the council's call was reminiscent of the
"political prayers" that were organized by the late minister of
religious affairs Alamsyah Ratu Perwiranegara in 1982 to garner
support for president Soeharto's renomination then.

He said, however, the decision whether to respond to Yafie's
calls would completely rest on the Indonesian Muslim community,
who will cast their votes together with other elements of the
nation at next Monday's election.

Bintang said the Indonesian Muslim community should not worry
about their proportional representation in the House of
Representatives (DPR) and the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR).

"There will be an automatic mechanism for proportional Muslim
representativeness in both legislative councils," he
said. (imn/edt)