The PPP was formed in 1973 through the merger of four Islamic groups—the Council of Scholars (Nahdlatul-?Ulama), the Indonesian Islamic Party (Partai Muslimin Indonesia), the United Islamic Party of Indonesia (Partai Sjarikat Islam Indonesia), and the Muslim Teachers' Party (Persatuan Tarbijah Islamijah)—in response to government pressure to simplify the country's party system. The newly created party was deeply divided; following its first national congress in 1984, the United Islamic Party of Indonesia and the Council of Scholars, upset with the party's leadership, left the PPP. The party's influence initially declined as a result, but by the mid-1990s it had become one of Indonesia's most powerful parties. After President Suharto left office in 1998, the PPP successfully campaigned to reduce the number of seats reserved for the military in the People's Consultative Assembly.