MP Questions Home Affairs Minister's Statement On FPI

Jakarta, Oct 25 (Antara) - A parliamentary member has questioned the home affairs minister`s recent statement about the need for regional governments to cooperate with the Islam Defenders` Front (FPI) here on Friday. "Any statement from a minister, I think, will be taken by the public and may be interpreted differently. With regard to his recent statement, I wonder whether the minister was serious about it. If it was a joke, that would be inappropriate," Nural Arifin from the Golkar Party said. She noted that she did not know whether minister Gamawan Fauzi was serious about his statement. "I do not know whether he is serious about the idea or if he had presented it only for a joke.. If he is serious, I certainly am very concerned," she said. She added that if the minister was serious, it was regrettable because he should have been able to make a better choice. "Are there no more organizations or institutions to choose from that have more integrity than that organization (FPI)? We must be able to choose the correct organizations to be assigned as monitors for development in the regions," she said. Nurul said the statement from the home affairs minister was not right. "That is wrong for the minister to ask organizations like FPI to monitor development activities carried out by the government," she said. Nurul, who is a member of the House of Representatives` Commission II, said the minister should have chosen organizations or institutions that have integrity and credibility and are acceptable by the public. "Public resistance against the (FPI) organization is huge. A lot of activities done by the organization have drawn a lot of negative responses from the public," she said. "This is not good. While efforts are still being made to fight mass organizations that have often provoked and created conflicts in many places, the home affairs minister seemed to have even given a kind of endorsement to them," she said, expressing her disappointment. She added that if it is true, then the minister`s proposal for regional governments to cooperate with FPI made no sense. "But if it was a mere joke, it was also inappropriate because a minister is not supposed to issue statements that could create a negative public response," she said. Minister Gamawan Fauzi had recently appealed to regional governments to cooperate with the FPI in their development efforts. "Regional governments should have not been allergic to mass organizations, including FPI," the minister said. The minister has received much criticism from various quarters because of the statement. The minister said that heads of regional governments must be able to approach various parties to cooperate in producing positive activities. "So far, we have positioned FPI that way (negatively). If we can invite them to cooperate, then FPI would also be a national asset. If it does wrongly, it is wrong. But it also has good sides." he said.