Golkar Party Chairman Aburizal Bakrie has asked all party members to avoid Al Zaytun Islamic Boarding School in Indramayu, West Java, which is allegedly operated by the Indonesian Islamic State.

Setya Novanto, head of the Golkar faction in the House of Representatives (DPR), said Bakrie had instructed party officials to avoid the school operated by Panji Gumilang, who allegedly heads the local operations of the outlawed hard-line group, also known as NII.

Al Zaytun has come under scrutiny after a group of activists claimed it was recruiting for NII. The school was founded and is led by Panji, who according to Sidney Jones, a terrorism expert from the International Crisis Group, is the leader of NII's district command 9 (KW9.)

Setya said Golkar remained alert and was evaluating their members. "Golkar doesn't want to be infiltrated by the Indonesian Islamic State group. We have conducted an evaluation," Setya said. "There are no Golkar members who have joined NII. We will take action if there are any," he said.

The statement was made after a former leader of NII, Imam Supriyanto, told the press that Anis Gumilang, a Golkar legislator from Indramayu, West Java, is Panji's daughter. Imam added that Panji could also be linked to senior members of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, also through Al Zaytun.

"Democratic Party Chairman Anas Urbaningrum and secretary general Edhie Baskoro once came to Al Zaytun with other officials," he said. Edhie is Yudhoyono's youngest son and a House legislator.

Imam also said that the family of former president Suharto was one of the contributors to Al Zaytun, once donating Rp 5 billion ($585,000) in 2005.

Panji Gumilang used the money to build a building that was later named after Suharto. "The building was named the Great General Suharto building and it is the main building of Al Zaytun university," Imam said. (Antara, JG)