PKS to reassess support for government

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.