PPP told to accelerate its national congress

Asip A. Hasani, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Members of the United Development Party (PPP) from half of the party's provincial branches across the country reiterated their demand on Tuesday that the party's central executive board bring forward the timing of its national congress (Muktamar) to precede the 2004 general election.

Through the "Declaration of Yogyakarta" signed by 30 party members at a one-day meeting in Yogyakarta on Monday, they also urged the central executive board to hold a national meeting (Mukernas) to legalize the decision to speed up the party's national congress.

"The central executive board has no choice but to agree with the acceleration of the national congress, otherwise the party will suffer significant losses as some party branches plan to set up a new party called 'PPP Reformasi'," the spokesperson for the meeting, Ahmad Subagyo of the Yogyakarta branch, told a press conference on Tuesday.

The press conference was also attended by the head of the PPP Yogyakarta branch Fauzi A.R. and his secretaries Muslih Ilyas and Herman Abdurrahman.

Subagyo said that the national meeting must be held in January next year.

The one-day meeting, labeled an Islah (reconciliation), was held at the Ambarukmo Hotel on Monday with the aim of resolving an internal conflict between executives who are demanding an acceleration of the timing of the party's national congress to 2002 or 2003 and others who want to maintain the extension of the current leadership under Hamzah Haz until after the 2004 general election.

The Jakarta, Central Java, Southeast Sulawesi and Irian Jaya branches of the party are among those most staunchly opposed to the extension of Hamzah's leadership.

The decision to extend Hamzah's leadership was taken during the party's national meeting early this year, annulling the party's earlier decision recommending the acceleration of the party's national congress. Hamzah was elected PPP chairman at the party's 4th national congress in 1998. His five-year-term should end in 2003.

Subagyo said that all of the party's central executive board members, including Hamzah, were invited to the meeting but only Husni Thamrin attended.

Fauzi said Hamzah's election as Vice President was another factor that had sparked the demand to accelerate the national congress, as it was feared Hamzah could no longer concentrate on party affairs.

He said that the Declaration of Yogyakarta also recommended an enactment of an internal regulation on members of the executive board who held high-ranking positions in government, such as presidential and vice presidential posts as well as ministerial posts.