GOVT HAS COMPLETED DRAFT SKB ON AHMADIYAH : ATTORNEY GENERAL

GOVT HAS COMPLETED DRAFT SKB ON AHMADIYAH : ATTORNEY GENERAL Jakarta, June 9 (ANTARA) - The draft on a joint ministerial decree (SKB) on Ahmadiyah has been completed and will soon be conveyed, Attorney General Hendarman Supanji said. "The final draft is already completed. I hope it can be immediately issued," Hendarman said after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Michael lB Mukasey, the United States' Attorney General on cooperation in the handling of corruption cases here on Monday. The joint ministerial decree was to be signed by the Home Affairs Minister, Religious Affairs Minister and Attorney General. Previously, Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto denied allegations he was purposely delaying the SKB's issuance. "No, there is no delaying because the Religious Affairs Minister has just returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia," Mardiyanto said following a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission II which discussed matters relating to special autonomy in Papua, Indonesia's most-eastern region. Mardiyanto also expressed hope the SKB could be issued soon. Previously, the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP)'s executive board urged the government to immediately issue a joint ministerial decree (SKB) to disband the Ahmadiyah sect. "This is necessary to avoid a broader social conflict as a result of pros and cons on the Ahmadiyah issue," Hasrul Azwar, a PPP associate chairman, said at the parliament building here last Wednesday. The SKB should be issued to prevent any perception that the government was allowing Ahmadiyah's continued existence - an attitude which could encourage the emergence of other deviant sects in Indonesia, said Hasrul, who is also chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s commission VIII overseeing religious affairs. Thus, the PPP was asking the government to issue the SKB soon to disband Ahmadiyah as recommended by the Coordinating Body for the Supervision of Religious Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem), he said. Ahmadiyah is considered a deviant sect because it believes in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as another prophet after the Prophet Muhammad while Islam does not recognize another prophet after Muhammad. Hasrul said Ahmadiyah had caused unrest among Muslims and leads to disunity especially in performing prayers.