PPP chairman threatens to remove vocal legislators

JAKARTA (JP): The beleaguered newly re-elected chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), Ismail Hasan Metareum, yesterday broke his promise not to dismiss his critics in the House of Representatives (DPR).

"I can no longer guarantee that there will be no removals (of DPR members from the PPP)," Ismail Hasan told journalists yesterday.

Shortly after he was re-elected at a party congress here last week, Ismail Hasan said he had no plan to recall PPP legislators, such as Sri Bintang Pamungkas and Matori Abdul Djalil, who had turned against his leadership.

Both Bintang and Matori entered the race for the PPP chairmanship and attempted to exploit Ismail Hasan's numerous weaknesses to win support for themselves.

Bintang is also well known for his stinging criticism of many of the government's initiatives. He has time and again embarrassed the conservative PPP with his criticism of state policies.

Earlier this year, he was reprimanded by the PPP leadership which considered his comments on certain government policies as overstepping the party line.

Matori, the PPP's outgoing secretary general, and Bintang have said they were prepared to quit their legislative posts if Ismail Hasan should sack them.

"Only those who thirst for publication would announce they are prepared to be withdrawn," Ismail Hasan said reacting to Matori and Bintang's statements.

Defending his change of mind, Ismail Hasan said he meant to remind PPP legislators that they have to be more responsible in what they are saying.

"I personally encourage every DPR member from PPP to be outspoken but they should master the details of every issue they raise," he said. "No more empty talking because they are representing the people."

Harmony

He noted that he had never removed a DPR member because he always focused on harmony to improve the image of the party, which has been ridden with factional conflicts.

Now that the party is becoming solid, he said, discipline must come first. He added that he would not hesitate to punish any party member who violated the rule.

In the latest development on the continuing dissension in the PPP, dozens of Bintang's supporters in the Central Java city of Surakarta (Solo) disappointed by Ismail Hasan's re-election have established Pro-democracy Islam Community, or Prodem.

The community's spokesman Trianto Heri Suryanto said the group hopes to help people channel their wishes because many Moslem youths are pessimistic about the PPP's ability under Ismail Hasan to push for democratization as people demanded.

He said the new forum will prepare young cadres who are able to develop the Moslem-dominated PPP into a more dynamic political organization.

"People can channel their aspirations through this forum without abandoning PPP," he said.

Bintang has congratulated Ismail Hasan for his re-election, but charged that the success was a result of a conspiracy between the outgoing executive board and the government, which wanted the incumbent chairman to remain at the helm. (pan/har)