PKS to reassess support for government
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is set to announce on Sunday whether it will continue supporting the current government in response to growing calls from the party's grassroots to withdraw its backing.
The board of patrons of the Islamic-oriented party began a two-day meeting in Jakarta on Saturday to discuss this strategic issue, as well as a number of other matters.
The meeting comes ahead of an expected announcement of a Cabinet reshuffle by Susilo.
Hilmi Aminuddin, who chairs the PKS central board of patrons, confirmed that the meeting would discuss a possible coalition with other political groups to support the Susilo government.
"It's up to the participants at the meeting to decide. We will not interfere," he told journalists on the sidelines of the closed-door meeting, which is being attended by at least 98 members of PKS advisory boards from across the country.
Also in attendance were PKS chairman Tifatul Sembiring, secretary-general Anis Matta, and former PKS chairmen Hidayat Nur Wahid, who is currently the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker, and Nur Mahmudi Ismail, the mayor-elect of Depok, West Java.
The PKS had been attracting growing public attention for its proclaimed commitment to eradicating corruption.
Hilmi said his party would not seek more seats in the Cabinet when Susilo reshuffled it, but stressed that the President would have to "fulfill the political contract" he made with the party prior to the 2004 presidential election.
"Under this political contract, the PKS was to be given four ministerial posts. It was agreed and signed before the presidential election. But so far we have only got three seats in the Cabinet," he said.
Minister of Agriculture Anton Apriyantono, Minister of Public Housing Muhammad Yusuf Ansyari and State Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs Adhyaksa Dault are current Cabinet members from a PKS background.
The party was reportedly seeking to have another of its supporters -- either former forestry minister Soeripto or lawyer Arief T. Surawidjaja -- appointed as the new Attorney General to replace the non-partisan Abdul Rahman Saleh.
Hilmi said he had no idea whether the PKS would maintain or withdraw its support for the government.
"We have joined the government in the interests of the people. We will evaluate whether their interests are being served by our position," he said.
Two surveys recently conducted by the PKS in Jakarta and Yogyakarta show that most of its supporters in the two provinces want the party to withdraw its backing for the government.
One of the main reasons given was the steep increases in fuel prices, which have increased hardship amid the current economic difficulties.
The two-day meeting is also set to discuss the PKS manifestos for the 2009 general and presidential elections. The party, which took 7 percent of the vote in the 2004 legislative election, is aiming for 22 million vote, or 20 percent of the total vote, in 2009.
Earlier on Friday, the Golkar Party, led by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, declared its loyalty to the government while at the same time seeking more Cabinet seats in the looming reshuffle. Golkar currently has only two Cabinet members -- chief economics minister Aburizal Bakrie and manpower minister Fahmi Idris.