PPP faces another crisis in E. Kalimantan

JAKARTA (JP): The Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP) is facing yet another leadership crisis as the East Kalimantan branch's congress failed to elect new leaders.

The three-day meeting succeeded in establishing a five-member electoral team but failed to meet the Tuesday deadline for the election of new leaders for the next five-year period. This was despite the local police office's decision to extend the permit for holding the gathering for several extra hours.

After the electoral process came to deadlock, the team resigned and asked the central executive board in Jakarta to elect the local leadership.

"The electoral committee has failed to reach agreement and to elect new leaders, so now it's handing the matter to the central executive board," spokesman Ridwan Suwidi was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying yesterday in Samarinda, the capital of East Kalimantan.

Besides East Kalimantan, three other regional branches of the party--Jakarta, South Sumatra and East Java--have experienced similar problems. In the Jakarta branch, in particular, dissension has grown after an electoral committee failed to determine the new leadership.

PPP deputy chairman Yusuf Syakir closed the meeting expressing his concern over the situation. "We accept with sadness your decision to hand over the authority to establish the new branch leadership (to the central executive board)," he said.

"However, I am confident that the central executive board will be able to resolve all of the problems concerning East Kalimantan branch leadership in a very short time," he said.

On June 23, leaders from 21 provincial branches of the party will meet and are expected to also discuss the problems now besetting East Kalimantan and other branches.

The party leaders have set Aug. 31 as the deadline for all regional branches to hold their congresses and elect new leaders for the next five years.

Yusuf called on the members and supporters of the PPP in the region not to be upset over the glitch and to remain united. "Hopefully we'll be able to establish the new regional leadership of the PPP later this month," he said.

The PPP is currently in the process of consolidating the organization following its national congress last August which saw the re-election of Ismail Hasan for another five-year term.

In the Jakarta branch, the electoral committee's failure to appoint new leaders in February resulted in the establishment of a rival board. The central executive board intervened by appointing Rusjdi Hamka as the new branch leader, but Arifin Arbain insisted that he was the rightful leader, although he was elected by an extraordinary meeting.

The party leaders have yet to settle the problem of the dual leadership in the Jakarta chapter. Rusjdi Hamka, meanwhile, is facing his own problems as a leading member of the Muhammadiyah organization, which forbids its members to hold positions in other organizations.

In North Sumatra, a rift emerged even before elections were held when two groups of activists tried to hold separate gatherings. (swe)