PPP edict draws mixed responses
JAKARTA (JP): A call by the United Development Party (PPP) for ulemas from all three political groups to issue an edict on the general election received mixed reactions yesterday.
A cautious deputy chairman of the Ulemas Council of Indonesia (MUI), Ali Yafie, said the council was open to deliberating the appeal.
Burhan Magenda, who heads the Board of Intellectuals of the dominant political organization Golkar, rejected the PPP's idea, as the agreement reached by chairmen of the three political groups was enough to guarantee the election would run in accordance with moral and ethical principles.
Secretary-General of the government-supported Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction Buttu Hutapea said the leadership of the nationalist-Christian coalition party had no plans to respond to the PPP's suggestion.
The advice, one of five political statements issued Sunday by the PPP at the conclusion of its three-day leadership meeting, received support from Golkar legislator Didiet Haryadi Priyohutomo, who said that such an edict would prevent political disintegration.
The PPP Central Board suggested over the weekend a national edict from ulemas would serve as moral guidance prior to the May 29 election.
The election, the sixth to be held under the New Order since 1971, will be contested by PPP, Golkar and the PDI. They will be vying for 425 of the 500 House of Representatives seats. The rest are reserved for the Armed Forces, whose members do not vote.
PPP Chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum said in a meeting with 300 ulemas from all over the country last week that ulemas are crucial to the building of good political morals of the political groups they are affiliated to, and should not be tools used to win general elections.
The appeal emerged in the wake of the PPP's concern about overwhelming moral decadence. It said ulemas must help instill upstanding ethical political behavior.
No comment
Yafie, a Golkar legislative candidate, said MUI could not comment until it received an explanation from PPP.
"They should meet with us to let us know the goals of gathering ulemas for an edict on the general election," Yafie said.
He indicated however that such a special convention of ulemas was not necessary because the ulemas always met at the MUI office.
Yafie said the ulemas council had no plan to issue an edict on the general election, saying that it would just encourage Moslems all over the country to help ensure the election runs safely and successfully.
According to Yafie, an ethical election requires both the government and political groups to give their full respect to the rules and Pancasila's moral principles, which reject enmity and the trading of accusations.
Burhan, who is also a lecturer at the Jakarta-based University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political Sciences, said it would be hard for the public to understand the PPP's call for an ethical election.
"The government has widely promoted an election which should run in a direct, general and confidential manner. These principles are already clear," Burhan said.
He agreed with the PPP's statement that a number of offenses had occurred in the past, but he said they did not need blowing out of proportion.
"Let's believe in the government's goodwill to see the upcoming election is run in accordance to the regulations," he said.
Didiet, former chairman of the National Youth Committee, said that the commitment of the three poll contestants' leadership was not enough to guarantee a fair election.
"The commitment should be accompanied by a move to promote an ethical election at the grassroots," Didiet said.
Didiet said PPP would not have raised the issue if organizers of the previous elections had stuck to the rules while carrying out their duties.
Meanwhile, Hutapea refused to comment, saying that the PDI would like to insert "just and honest" to the "direct, general, free and confidential" principles already included in the existing election rules. (amd)