PPP leaders move to suppress internal conflicts

PPP leaders move to suppress internal conflicts

JAKARTA (JP): Top officials of the United Development Party
(PPP) and the largest Moslem organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)
struck a deal yesterday to suppress their political rift.

PPP chief Ismail Hasan Metareum led a strong seven-member team
from the party's central executive board to meet with Jusuf
Hasyim, chairman of NU's law-making body (syuriah) and one of
Indonesia's most influential Moslem scholars.

The unprecedented meeting came only a day after NU chairman
Abdurrahman Wahid called on its 34 million members to shun the
Moslem-backed PPP if the August congress fails to elect an NU
figure as its new chairman.

"We agreed to seek ways of how to end the infighting or at
least suppress it from surfacing," Jusuf told journalists after
the two hour meeting held behind the closed doors at the Manari
Restaurant. He declined to go into details.

Formed in 1973, PPP is an amalgam of four Moslem parties: NU,
Muslimin Indonesia, Syarikat Islam Indonesia and PERTI.

Although NU claims the largest membership, PPP leadership has
always been dominated by politicians from Muslimin Indonesia.
Metareum is also identified with this group.

Jusuf, whose other hat is as a member of the Association of
Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals' (ICMI) council of scholars, said
he and the PPP top executives from different groups were "trying
to unite their vision" on the upcoming congress.

He said he personally would accept whoever is elected by the
August congress. "What really matters is that the leader puts
PPP's interests above his personal ones."

According to Jusuf, the meeting did not touch on who should
take the next PPP chair but did stress that the party's leader
must be able to communicate with the bureaucracy, other political
organizations and the public.

Asked why PPP secretary general Matori Abdul Djalil, a strong
contender along with Ismail Hasan in the leadership race, was
conspicuously absent from the meeting, Jusuf quipped: "because
there were only enough chairs for eight."

Ismail Hasan refused to comment on the talks.

Open challenge

The meeting was apparently aimed at erasing the impression
that the political rivalry between figures from NU and Muslimin
Indonesia for the next party chair is getting out of hand.

In the latest open challenge to Muslimin Indonesia's
domination, Abdurrahman said on Tuesday that the PPP helm must go
to a figure from NU.

"What an irony," he said, "NU members make up most of the
party's supporters but why should we choose a party leader from
another group."

While he keeps telling NU members to stay away from PPP,
Abdurrahman keeps the public guessing if he would finally take
his supporters' challenge to run for PPP chairmanship.

NU, who has its strongest base in rural areas of Java, was
once a strong political party but was convinced to return to its
educational mission and retreated from formal politics in 1984.

In the ongoing battle for the party's top spot, NU has fielded
at least two figures: Matori Abdul Djalil, the incumbent
secretary general, and Hamzah Haz, an outspoken legislator.

There is now speculation that Muslimin Indonesia and NU are
arranging a deal on the outcome of the congress in Jakarta.

Last week, for example, Matori, Abdurrahman held a secret
meeting with the chairman of Muslimin Indonesia H.J. Naro in
Surabaya but none were willing to disclose the content of their
talks.

Senior PPP politicians identified with NU last month also held
a private meeting in Jakarta during which they agreed that the
party's number one post should now go to NU.

They also appointed five ulemas to look into potential
candidates and prepare for their election. (pan)