Thousands of PPP supporters attend mass prayer in Sleman
YOGYAKARTA (JP): More than 7,000 supporters of the United Development Party (PPP) attended on Saturday a mass prayer in Ngaglik, Sleman, some 12 kilometers north of here, with ulema KH Zaenuddin MZ from Jakarta as the key speaker.
The gathering also saw the establishment of a new PPP militant youth wing -- based in the regency of Sleman -- called Gerakan Militan Ka'abah (GMK)
One of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy speakers, Husnie Thamrin and legislator Alfian Dharmawan, were also in attendance.
Thousands of people, mostly youths from the nearby towns of Surakarta, Magelang, and Klaten, started the gathering with a parade of vehicles through the city.
The cars and motorbikes roaming the streets caused serious traffic congestion about one hour before the event began at 2 p.m.
In his vigorous speech, Zaenuddin said that Indonesia had been suffering for a long time since the multi-dimensional crisis hit the country in 1998.
"Until today, we have yet to see any sign of change. The political elite has been too selfish and not listened to the people's aspirations," he said.
He hinted that in such a situation Indonesians needed statesmen, instead of politicians. "(Unfortunately) this country only has politicians. The only statesman Indonesia has ever had was (former president) Soeharto,"
"When people forced Soeharto to abdicate, he bowed to the people's aspirations and quit despite the fact that he still had myriad supporters," Zaenuddin, known for his closeness to the Soeharto family, said.
Zaenuddin campaigned for PPP from the '70s till the early '80s. He withdrew his support for the party in 1997, and claimed that he belonged to all (political) groups.
"The current national condition made me come back to politics. I immediately said 'yes' when Pak Hamzah Haz asked me to assist the party again," he said, referring to the PPP chairman.
"So don't say that I have come back to PPP, because actually I never left the party," he said, which was applauded by the supporters.
Such a huge mass gathering apparently worried many Yogyakarta people, who have recently experienced much chaos.
Sleman Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Djoko Subroto told The Jakarta Post that the police deployed all of their members to secure the event, "We have more than 1,160 personnel in Sleman, and all of them were on alert," he said.
Despite the security guarantee from the police, incidents happened after the mass prayer ended. The first incident took place when a group of supporters damaged a restaurant in the Umbulharjo area on their way home. Another incident occurred on Jl. Kaliurang, some 4 kilometers north of here, when another group smashed and broke a car's front windshield.(23)