Anita Rachman – A lawmaker on Sunday said the budget of the Religious Affairs Ministry would be re-evaluated after he accused Minister Suryadharma Ali of using state funds to woo clerics to his party.

The statement came the same day as Suryadharma's faction, the Islam-based United Development Party (PPP), announced that 23 clerics from Brebes, Central Java, had pledged to join it following a meeting between the minister and about 3,000 clerics at a pesantren, or Islamic boarding school, in the district.

Abdul Kadir Karding, the chairman of the House of Representatives Commission VIII, which oversees religious affairs, said the minister had provided up to Rp 1 billion ($112,000) each in state aid to madrasas, or religious schools, to further his political interests. The commission, Abdul said, never agreed to allot such a huge budget to madrasas.

"He has a political motive to recruit clerics [who advise the madrasas] to join the party. It's not ethical and must not be continued," he said. "The state budget is for all people, not for certain groups only."

Abdul said the House and government had agreed madrasas should receive aid at a maximum of "around Rp 60 million to Rp 100 million, but not a billion rupiah."

The minister, he added, should focus on more urgent matters, like religious violence, rather than "his party's interests."

Abdul is a lawmaker from the National Awakening Party (PKB), which over the past few months has been competing with its rival Islam-based PPP for support from the country's clerics.

PPP officials have claimed that dozens of imams have been moving to their party from other Islamic faction, like the PKB.

The PPP deputy secretary general, Arwani Thomafi, denied Abdul's accusations. The minister has never given anything to the clerics he meets, he told the Jakarta Globe from Brebes. "You can check here by yourself. These clerics are from villages, they want to meet the minister."

Arwani said providing aid to religious schools was not in violation of any regulation, "because that's one of the minister's responsibilities, to improve the quality of religious schools."

Arwani, a PPP lawmaker who also serves in Commission VIII, said the ministry's biggest budget allocation is for the education sector. "And I don't remember any agreement suggesting the minister should limit aid to madrasas. I will check the commission's meeting notes," he said.

Arwani stressed that Suryadharma in his capacity as PPP chairman held meetings with clerics to build better relationships. He said that the minister would hold gatherings with clerics in several other provinces.

Ahmad Zainuddin, the deputy head of Commission VIII from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), another Islamic-based faction, said Rp 1 billion per school was too much. The ministry is only allowed to build three new classrooms per school, "each worth Rp 100 million to Rp 120 million," he said.

But he added that Commission VIII was not the proper body to probe the ministry budget. "It's the domain of the Supreme Audit Agency [BPK]. I cannot judge whether the minister is using the program for his political interests," he said.

Bahrul Hayat, the ministry's secretary general, said the ministry always gave aid to madrasas regardless of who was minister. "Madrasas [development] is one of our programs. It's not only the minister, if I get the chance to visit madrasas, I will also give them aid," he said.