PPP's Ismail turns critical of the government

PPP's Ismail turns critical of the government

Judging by his performance and career records, Ismail Hasan
Metareum, 68, chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), is
a low-profile politician. Nobody thought that, one day, he would
turn bitter in criticizing the political situation. That's why
many observers were jolted recently by Ismail's severe remarks
against the government. To further explore his ideas and mission,
The Jakarta Post reporter K. Basrie interviewed Ismail while he
was campaigning Wednesday in Surabaya, East Java.

SURABAYA, East Java (JP): Among PPP participants, Ismail Hasan
Metareum is better known as Buya (Father) Ismail, a respectful
title given to him by members of the Association of Islamic
Students (HMI),which he chaired in the early 1960s.

Unlike many politicians, Ismail never uses expressive hand
gestures or eloquent tones of voice to illustrate and strengthen
his remarks. He speaks slowly and blandly. His gaze is dull. His
gait is also slow.

But his continuous criticism against the government has
changed people's opinion of his personality.

It was Ismail who used the phrase "preman (thugs) of politics"
to illustrate the brutality and the wild efforts performed by
members of a certain party.

Ismail also used the phrase "single majority" to criticize the
government.

He also continuously complains about the unfair treatment
received by PPP supporters in many general elections. Ismail said
only a massive change could stop the growing corruptions,
collusions and social gaps in this country.

Question: In the past few months, you have strongly criticized
the government, which is actually not your style. What's the
reason behind it?

Ismail: I've lost my patience. That's why I keep trying to
debate on how to properly manage this country for the sake of its
future. We, on-the-job politicians, are old enough now. We have
no reason to let this current condition persist in front of the
young generation's eyes.

Q: Have you ever been warned by the government for your harsh
remarks?

A: Never. My criticisms are not harsh. (Laughing) I made the
remarks based on a logical mind and logical does not mean harsh,
does it? That's why I've never been warned.

(Ismail claims that he is fit enough for a man his age. During
the current campaign, he has only suffered from a slight cough.
Before the interview, he took some cough drops. When the Post
jokingly reminded him not to take the tablets due to their color
which referred to another party, Ismail replied quickly: "It's
because of the color that I have to chew them.")

Q: What did you meant with the statement that PPP and its
participants have faced a series of injustices?

A: Oh... it's been happening since the establishment of this
party (in 1973) and since the law on political parties was
approved in 1975.

People who declare themselves PPP participants will be
expelled or intimidated. So, many people are afraid to become
members of our party. In the 1992 election, for example, several
villagers were forced to perform pushups in muddy water after
they were found choosing PPP on the election day. So, how could I
contain my sorrow?

This is what we call injustice in the political affairs of
this country. Basically, all citizens have the same rights and
are equal by law but such unfair treatments occur. We have
complained about this matter many times but still it happens. I
have no idea whether such a political situation could be stopped
or whether it will exist forever.

Q: Then what's wrong with Law No. 3/75 on political parties?

A: The interpretation of the law disadvantages us because it
helps to create a floating mass, which means that people could be
supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) today, PPP
tomorrow and Golkar (the dominant party) the next day.

So, the floating mass could cause the political parties to
float. In such a situation, another party depresses us by
exploiting civil servants and instructing them to make maximum
efforts to help it win the election. As a result, this country
won't have an easy time building a clean and respectable
government if civil servants are such burdened with political
loads.

It will be difficult to punish corrupt employees, for example,
because they have done something to help the party win. But it
still happens, that party disobeys the President's guidelines.
According to President Soeharto, civil servants are not allowed
to be burdened with political affairs but they should account for
all matters to their bosses.

What fate will the other parties have is such a violation can
not be stopped? Unfairness and injustice will continue because we
can't get rid of the law. So, working hard and having a good
public image is no guarantee for us to win the election.

Actually, such a problem occurred when the draft bill on civil
servants was still under deliberation at the House of
Representatives. I told the minister of justice then that I would
not sign the draft if the article obliging civil servants to join
Golkar was not omitted.

Finally, the article was revoked. However, the meeting's
chairman announced later that members of Korpri (the corps of
civil servants) had to channel their aspirations through Golkar.
The civil servants were forced to join that party and those who
refused to do so would be fired or expelled to faraway places, so
they would face problems in their lives.

Q: What are PPP's other complaints during this year's election
rallies?

A: What worries me most is the infiltration of outsiders into our
party. Nowadays, there's always a heavy crowd flocking PPP's
campaign rallies. We've learned by experience during our
campaigns in several cities, such as Pekalongan in Central Java
and Yogyakarta. We're blamed for the riots in Pekalongan even
though our branch office there was damaged. There must have been
infiltration because no campaigners would destroy their own
offices.

I think there are efforts to ruin PPP's image. In Buaran,
south of Pekalongan, our members said that the recent violence
there was conducted by outsiders -- based on their dialects and
overall performance. Numbering about 50, the outsiders committed
the crime shortly after a group of local residents finished their
Koran reading around midnight. But still we're blamed for "being
wild" and are charged as the party responsible for the incident.

Q: Do you think there will be a relationship between the huge
numbers of participants in most PPP rallies and the number votes
the party receives in the May 29 election?

A: I can't explain this clearly because of what we have
experienced in previous elections. For example, there was a local
vote-counting committee chief who was caught red-handed
manipulating the votes.

During the ballot counting, he always shouted number two
(Golkar) until someone held his hand and found that the ballot's
number two section had no mark on it.

All the votes were then recounted and PPP won. This was one of
the cases we found in the 1992 general election. Another case was
the early closing of a voting session at a subdistrict. The local
committee closed the voting booth at 11 a.m. whereas, according
to the law, people could come until 2 p.m. Was this case lawful?

Q: What do you and PPP really want to say about the Golkar
document discovered in Bengkulu recently? (PPP considers the
document as one on prearranged vote counting, while Golkar
acknowledges it as one on prepoll vote estimation.)

A: We could see clearly from that document, which described the
number of illegal voting papers, that everything had been well-
planned for the election. It's true that the document is not the
final result of vote counting because the votes have not been
counted but it's a plan that could be conducted by them on the
election day.

Q: Has the PPP found other secret documents which might indicate
tricks planned by the other parties?

A: Yes, we have some more. But I don't want to talk about it at
the moment.

Q: Will they become big issues and be revealed in the near
future?

A: To be big issues or not doesn't matter. The fact is we have
several documents in our hands. We still don't know when and
where to release them. Let's see later.

Q: If Golkar always gives voice to the continuity-of-development
theme during their campaigning, what about PPP?

A: We have topics on justice and political changes. We do this
because we still find injustices in many sectors, from politics
and economy to cultural and social issues. These are the main
problems of this nation. Thus, we need changes for a better
future.

Changes which could lead to a fair and clean government. At
this stage, for instance, we urge the government not to allow
people to manipulate the election vote-counting data. PPP learned
in previous elections if there were orders to rig vote counting.
We actually agree with the continuity-of-development theme but
it's not easy for us to tolerate the manipulation of ballot
counting.

Q: What are PPP's efforts and strategies to attract Megawati
supporters?

A: PPP does nothing. It's true that PPP participants in Solo
(Central Java) always hold regular discussions with supporters of
(ousted PDI chairwoman) Megawati but it doesn't happen in any
other area. We feel that our own supporters are big enough and,
therefore, we consider 1997 as the time for the resurgence of
PPP. That's why we don't need to do anything to attract
supporters of other parties but we also cannot prohibit people
from joining our campaigning and voting for our party.

Q: Do you have any idea why the government seems afraid of the
coalition between Megawati supporters and PPP participants?

A: The government should have no reason to fear it. There's no
alliance and we have made no efforts to perform an alliance.

Q: But the government has ordered bans on all Mega-Bintang
banners and stickers...

A: It would be lawful to prohibit the banners if the word Mega-
Bintang was interpreted as Megawati-Bintang because it could mean
that there are two parties, instead of one, in this organization.
We will also object if the name of Megawati is mentioned at our
rallies. But Mega-Bintang here, based on pure Bahasa Indonesia,
means a big star. That's why I still can't understand why the
government decided to ban the Mega-Bintang banners.

Q: When were you first attracted to the political world?

A: While I was at SMA (senior high school) in Jakarta. I followed
this country entire progress during the second clash with the
Dutch. One day, my prediction came true when the clash happened
in Yogyakarta, as I had forecasted a few days before. Since then,
I felt I had political talent.

(Born in Sigli, Aceh, in the northern tip of Sumatra, on April
4, 1929, Ismail spent most of his childhood in his hometown and
later moved to Jakarta to continue his studies at a senior high
school. At 17, he became a member of the Association of
Indonesian Islamic Students, in Banda Aceh.

While studying law at University of Indonesia, he, as an
executive of HMI, was already involved in politics.

Four years after graduating from the university in 1964,
Ismail was elected as a member of the House of Representatives
for PPP. In 1989, he was appointed as chairman of the party, a
position he still holds.

As well as being a politician, he was a lecturer of law at his
alma mater. He also taught law at the privately-owned
Tarumanegara University in Jakarta and became dean of faculty for
eight years.

He is married to Maryani and they have five children. Ismail's
favorite sport is cycling.)

W: Who is your guru in politics?

A: I know many respected Islamic leaders, such as Kyai Wahid
Hasyim. M. Natsir and Kyai Idham Chalid. But it's difficult to
answer that question unless you asked me about my teachers at
school (laughing). One of my favorite teachers was Professor Joko
Sutono, a founder of the School of Law at University of
Indonesia. He taught me about philosophy and government
administration.

Q: What's your opinion about leadership succession and the proper
profile of our next president?

A: I have no answer because we have yet to discuss those issues.
We're still drafting the requirements and collecting ideas from
our branches.

Q: By the way, you turned 68 last month. Are you physically and
mentally ready for the presidential seat?

A: (Laughing) PPP never talks about that. It depends totally on
our board of executives. So, as the party's chairperson, I can't
talk about that because I never discuss it with other executives.