PPP Leader Voices Concern over Islamic Parties' Future

Medan, North Sumatra (Antara) - The United Development Party (PPP)'s general chairman Suryadharma Ali said he was concerned about the prospects of Islam-based or Islamic parties in Indonesia here on Friday. Islam-based or Islamic political parties in the country are facing a serious threat in the general elections this year, due to the declining trend of their total votes, Suryadharma Ali said at a meeting with Islamic clerics of North Sumatra. The parliamentary threshold for the legislative elections this year has been set at 3.5 percent, so if the parties fail to meet it they will have to drop out, he said expressing his concern. He added that it would be ironical if the parties were sidelined in the national politics of a country with a muslim majority. He said if the parties failed to get support from the muslim people in the country, they could fail to meet the threshold and if that happened "Indonesia would be a grave for the parties, which would be inappropriate." Suryadharma Ali compared the muslim people in the country to city bus passengers who are close to each other or even jostling with each other, but they have different destinations and often do not care about each other. In view of that, he called on the muslim community in the country to unite. "This could be our momentum," he said. (*) Reporting by Irwan Arfa