Ulemas facing rising temptation to join with PDI

Ulemas facing rising temptation to join with PDI

JAKARTA (JP): Moslem ulemas who opposed the re-election of the
United Development Party's Ismail Hasan Metareum are becoming
increasingly tempted to shift their support to the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI).

Yesterday, the Indonesian Moslems Assembly (MMI), a mass
organization affiliated with PDI, said it plans to invite top
ulemas Alawy Muhammad and Abdurrahman Wahid to its congress later
this month.

Alawy, an influential ulema from Madura, has become a symbol
of the ulemas' opposition to Ismail Hasan's re-election as party
chairman at the Sept. 1 party congress. He has openly announced
his wish to quit PPP and move to PDI.

Abdurrahman is the chairman of the 135 million member
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which wants to see Ismail Hasan from the
Muslimin Indonesia faction replaced by an NU figure.

"We will invite a lot more ulemas to the congress," MMI
chairman H.W. Salamun told journalists. He added the congress
would not be used to lure ulemas into joining PDI.

Under the leadership of the late president Sukarno's eldest
daughter Megawati Soekarnoputri, PDI has aggressively tried to
lure disgruntled PPP ulemas into its fold.

The three-day MMI congress to be opened by Vice President Try
Sutrisno on Sept. 26 will discuss programs which focus on
alleviating poverty.

Apparent support for the ulemas' threat to join with PDI came
from Sri Bintang Pamungkas, an outspoken legislator who failed in
his bid to oust Ismail Hasan during the leadership election.

He said the ulemas wanted to quit PPP because the party had
bowed to the government's will and failed to accommodate their
voices.

"It's not democratic and would be counterproductive," he said
commenting on reports that the military has tried to make Alawy
reconsider his plan to join with PDI.

Not all dissatisfied ulemas receive the support of their
fellow scholars. Senior ulemas from four regencies on Madura
island, for instance, plan to present a petition asking Alawy to
drop his plan.

On a separate occasion, Abdurrahman Wahid advised ulemas to
stop making an issue of the new PPP leadership because they can
vote for Golkar or PDI in future elections.

"Why should we be dissatisfied if we are consistent with our
1984 policy to organizationally withdraw from formal politics,"
he said.

Disgruntled ulemas have been maneuvering to demonstrate their
opposition to the PPP's new leadership. Last week, ulemas in East
Java went as far as considering the establishment of their own
political party.

The initiative, which has drawn mixed reactions from PPP
activists, came from three of NU's most influential scholars:
Yusuf Hasyim, Alawy and Syansuri Badawi.

"A new party is needed to accommodate the growing number of
people who refused to join the existing three political
organizations," Yusuf said.

The three, who have become the standard bearers in the ulemas'
rejection of the PPP's new chairman, got the idea in a meeting in
the East Java Moslem stronghold of Jombang last Friday. They
appointed nine ulemas to decide whether the ulemas would accept
or reject Ismail Hasan's appointment of three NU leaders as
members of the PPP's advisory board.

Indonesia currently sanctions three political organizations:
PPP, the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and Golkar as
stipulated in the 1985 law on political and mass organizations.
(pan/har/bsr)