Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Indonesian lawmakers criticized Gamawan Fauzi on Friday after the Home Affairs Minister sought to paint the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) as a potential "national asset" and urged local officials to foster a more constructive relationship with the hard-line group.

"Why not suggest regional governments cooperate with motorcycle gangs?" said Eva Kusuma Sundari, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. "They share the same thuggish characteristics."

Gamawan made the controversial statements in a speech on Thursday at an urban planning conference held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta.

"If necessary, you can cooperate with the FPI on certain things," he said. "They should not be seen as a different mass organization, but as our partner. We can benefit from the relationship."

Gamawan sought to emphasize that the group, which is best known for its frequently violent – and occasionally fatal – raids on premises that sell alcohol, was not entirely without merit. "During the Aceh tsunami they were helpful," he said, referring to the aid the group had offered after the 2004 catastrophe.

Gamawan stood by his comments when questioned by reporters outside the Vice President's office in Jakarta. "We have positioned them in a certain way," he said, according to the Indonesian newspaper Tempo. "We can approach them and ask them to cooperate so they can become a national asset."

Indonesian lawmakers were less convinced of the FPI's potential for a positive contribution to regional development.

"Instead of cooperating with them, the right statement should be educating them," said Martin Hutabarat, of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) party. "The Home Affairs Minister often says eccentric or unnecessary things."

Eva, a member of the House commission on legal affairs, went further. "The Home Affairs Minister is disoriented," she said. "He has endangered legal enforcement in the regions and the implementation of principles found in the Constitution."

The Islamist group has gained considerable influence among conservative public officials in regions such as West Java, where local officials are routinely accused of cowing to hard-line pressure.

The FPI, and several affiliated organizations, have been implicated in the destruction of Ahmadiyah mosques, the death of a woman in Central Java and the largely successful drive to shutter protestant churches in West Java.

While Gamawan expressed feelings of solidarity with the organization on Thursday, the two have had a rocky relationship in the past. When the minister banned local bylaws prohibiting the sale of alcohol, the FPI stormed his office and hurled stones at the building in protest.

Gamawan responded with a "three-strikes" rule, claiming that he would ban the FPI if they were involved in two more incidents.

The FPI has since been implicated in dozens of raids and violent altercations. In each instance, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the incident didn't count, because it wasn't "at a national level."