T

he Islam Defenders Front (FPI) have attacked Golkar Party politician Nurul Arifin for making a statement saying that the hardline organization lacked credibility.

FPI spokesman Munarman said that Nurul should take a closer look at her own political party which also lacked credibility.

'€œNurul Arifin is a member of the Golkar Party, a party which is implicated in the Koran procurement graft scandal. So why do we have to listen to a person whose organization [party] is involved in a corruption case? The party fails to take care of its members [so why listen to her]?'€ FPI spokesman Munarman said on Friday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

On Thursday, Nurul, a member of the House of Representatives Commission II overseeing home affairs slammed Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi for calling on local administrations to work with the vigilante group in solving urban problems. '€œThat means that the government should legitimize the group, that the FPI is a group to be reckoned with and considered professional. The minister should find outfits that have more credibility than the FPI,'€ Nurul told reporters.

Munarman was involved in a tea-throwing incident in June following his argument with University of Indonesia (UI) sociologist Thamrin Amal Tomagola in a live talk show on national television.

The FPI is notorious for its violent actions across the country. In July, a brawl erupted between FPI members and residents of Sukorejo village, in Kendal, Central Java, as members of the FPI from Temanggung, Magelang and Yogyakarta were conducting a raid on brothels and illegal gambling in the village. The clash claimed the life of one resident and left three others injured.