Some 1.2 million Buddhists vow allegiance to Golkar
Some 1.2 million Buddhists vow allegiance to Golkar
JAKARTA (JP): The 1.2 million strong Buddhist Niciren Syosyu
denomination has promised to vote for the ruling Golkar party in
the 1997 general election.
"We will never regret it if we choose Golkar to continue the
New Order government," Niciren Syosyu leader Herwindra Aiko
Senosoenoto said in Medan, North Sumatra, on Saturday.
Aiko was addressing 1,200 North Sumatra sect members taking
part in a Golkar gathering. Religious affairs ministry and Golkar
officials were also present.
She said sect members believe that only Golkar could ensure
continued prosperity and guarantee the nation's unity, Antara
reported.
Niciren Syosyu made its choice out of its responsibility to
safeguard the country's survival. "Buddha teaches us that 'I am
the eyes, pillars and big boat of my nation'," she said.
Golkar will contest 425 seats in the House of Representatives
next year with the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the
United Development Party (PPP).
With strong backing from the military and bureaucracy, Golkar
is likely to retain its majority in the House. Currently, it has
282 seats. PPP has 62 and PDI 56.
Aiko criticized people who "look with suspicion" at religious
organization's "active cooperation" with Golkar.
"Cynics have been trying to mislead the public by saying that
it is not right for religious organizations to throw their
support behind Golkar," she said.
Meanwhile, in Yogyakarta, PDI chief Megawati Soekarnoputri
said over the weekend that some people are out to discredit her
party in the run-up to the upcoming election.
According to Megawati, the PDI has been stigmatized as a tiny
party which will never grow because it is forever riddled with
conflict.
Its activists, she said when addressing party cadres in Wates
regency last week, have been smeared as "violent" and
troublemakers.
"I strongly reject the generalization that all PDI members are
savage and violent. Most PDI activists are dynamic young people
who are full of life," she said.
She said that the party's rivals have been trying to shape
public opinion that the PDI, an outspoken Christian-nationalist
alliance, is a hopeless organization. (pan)