Democratic Party to rank parties in coalition based on differing stances

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party is planning on ranking political parties in the ruling coalition based on the parties' differing opinions.

Democratic Party deputy secretary-general Saan Mustopha said that the ranking process would not only focus on the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), both of which recently displayed opposing stances toward that of the other parties in the coalition in terms of a proposed graft inquiry.

“It does not have to be the two [Golkar-PKS] parties. We will be able to determine who else from the degree of difference [in opinions] and where the difference is located. PPP [The United Development Party] once had a differing opinion to us. On the [Bank] Century matter, there wasn't any trouble then,” he said Saturday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The ranking process is currently being carried out and is scheduled for completion next week, Saan said.

“We will recommend the one that most often differs be first on the ranking scale,” he said.

Saan said that the process would take into account the political stances of parties, and determine whether those stances were in line with the ethics of being in a coalition.

The coalition is currently made up of the Democratic Party, Golkar, the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and PKS.

While the rest voted against an inquiry into possible corrupt practices in the country's tax office earlier this week, Golkar and PKS, Golkar, the PKS vouched for the inquiry along with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura).