Religious leaders reject parties based on religion

Religious leaders reject parties based on religion

JAKARTA (JP): Religious leaders yesterday warned against the
formation of new political parties with ethnic or religious
orientations, fearing that such organizations could lead to
national disintegration.

Hasan Basri, chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI),
said such new political parties were nominally legal but warned
that the use of religious symbols could create a sense of
exclusivity and cause tension.

"The presence of new parties outside the previously existing
ones is something legal and good. But parties using religious
symbols and teachings will be seen as exclusive and contain SARA
(an acronym for tribal affiliations, religion, race and societal
groups)," he said during a hearing with the House of
Representatives Commission VII on education, religion, sports and
youth affairs here yesterday.

In his opinion, all political parties should be free from
religious sentiments and ascribe to the state ideology of
Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.

"I believe that in the future, political parties based on
religious affiliations will be unpopular and disrupt national
unity," he said.

New parties have been popping up due to the country's new
climate of political openness. While no parties based on a
particular religion have been established, there are indications
that one may soon appear.

The establishment of the Chinese-Indonesian Reform Party
(Parti) drew strong criticism from Chinese Moslem groups despite
the new party's affirmations that it was open to all elements of
society.

Sularso Sopater, chairman of the Indonesian Communion of
Churches (PGI), criticized the idea of setting up religious-based
political parties, which have been called for by certain groups.

He described the establishment of such parties as nothing more
than a setback to national unity.

"Public and private life based on Pancasila and the
Constitution should be maintained consistently regardless of
race, ethnicity, religion and tribal affiliation," he said.

He said PGI would not endorse the establishment of religious-
based political parties because such organizations would likely
trigger division and disintegration.

The Indonesian Bishops Council (KWI) has reacted cautiously on
the issue, saying it would wait for new parties to grow before
making an official stand.

"The decisive factor in a party is its mission. Parties should
be closely monitored to see if they are fighting for the people's
welfare or their own interests," KWI secretary-general Y.
Hadiwikarta said.

He maintained that a political party could be religiously
oriented but, in practice, it must fight for the interests of a
majority of the people.

Blamed

Hadiwikarta blamed the politically repressive Soeharto regime
for the current rush by various groups to establish new parties.

"Repressed groups are now free and they are setting up parties
to voice their interests," he said.

The Indonesian Hindu Dharma Council (PHBI) and the Buddhist
Council (Walubi) voiced the opinion that the use of religious
symbols by any political parties would only serve to tarnish a
religion's image and damage the party's own general popularity.

"The use of religious symbols and teachings in political
parties would certainly affect a religion's sacredness," PHBI
chairman Putu Soekreta Soeranta said at yesterday's hearing.

The Buddhist Council also protested what it perceived as
discrimination against Chinese-Indonesians, who are mostly
Buddhist and Christian.

"What sins have they have committed to be so inhumanely
treated?" Endro S., secretary-general to the council, asked.

He pointed to the fact that only one director general was in
charge of Hinduism and Buddhism at the Ministry of Religious
Affairs as evidence that the two religions were being
discriminated against. (rms)