PKP to merge with other parties ahead of 2004 election

Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Karang Asem, East Bali

The Justice and Unity Party (PKP) is planning to merge with other parties in a bid to create a powerful coalition before general elections get underway in 2004, its chairman Gen. (ret) Edy Sudrajat, announced on Saturday.

In a ceremony held in the remote, impoverished village of Tianyar in Karangasem regency, some 120 kilometers east of Denpasar, Edy stressed the need to seek out parties with similar platforms and objectives to improve the country's social, economic, and political conditions.

"After almost two years in power, both executive and legislative members have done very little improve the welfare of our people," he said before 3,000 PKP members and executives at the celebration, which marked the party's third anniversary in Tianyar's dilapidated local community center.

The party chose the village as a venue over wealthier hubs like Denpasar, Nusa Dua or Sanur, he said, to get in better touch with everyday people. "We like to see and hear people's aspirations," added Edy, who was accompanied by Bali vice governor Alit Putra.

Edy said that the PKP plans to approach a number of parties to establish ongoing dialogues with their members in preparation for the merger plan. He declined to say which parties he had in mind.

Members of the Mutual Assistance Consultative Organization (MKGR), led by former minister of women's affairs Mien Sugandi, were seen among PKP's crowd last Saturday, however.

The PKP was first established by a group of retired Army generals, and high-ranking officials, including former vice president Try Sutrisno, former chief of Army Edy Sudrajat, and Hayono Isman, among others.

In the 1999 election, the PKP only obtained four chairs in the House of Representatives from its 1,065,000 votes, or approximately 1.01 percent of the total votes.

According to the Law on General Election issued in l999, a party is only able to participate in a general election with a minimum of two percent of the total chairs at the House of Representatives, or three percent at the regional legislative bodies.

Looking tired after a four-hour journey from the Bali provincial capital of Denpasar, a small and trembling Edy said that the party was currently consolidating its members, and sharpening its programs.

"We are tired of seeing politicians bickering with each other to stay in power. I predict new parties will join to drastically change our social, economic and political structures for the betterment of the people," Edy said.

Try Sutrisno, chief of PKP's advisory board, suggested that local elites try find solutions together for the country's lingering problems, rather than blaming each other.

Amid heavy rainfalls, the PKP celebration was followed by a series of charity activities, including blood donations, donations of school text books, and utensils for the village's poor public schools.