Head of Wahid’s Party Is Stabbed in Jakarta Attack

The leader of President Abdurrahman Wahid’s political party was stabbed in an attack Sunday by two men, one of whom was then beaten to death by a crowd.

Matori Abdul Jalil, chairman of the National Awakening Party and deputy speaker of the Indonesian parliament, was admitted to Pasar Rebo hospital in eastern Jakarta, a nurse there said. His condition was unclear.

One of the assailants was killed and the other attacker managed to escape, said a police officer in southern Jakarta, the capital.

The officer, who identified himself only as Sajiman, said the motive for the attack was unknown.

The National Awakening Party was set up in 1998 by the 30-million-member Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Islamic social organization. At the time, Wahid led the NU.

Although the party placed fourth in last year’s parliamentary elections, an electoral college overwhelmingly elected its candidate, Wahid, as the new head of state in October.