Can another 'marhaenis' party attract swing voters?<\/p>\n
Sandy Darmosumarto, Research and Development Unit,
\nThe Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Many parties wave symbols of the ideology established by
\nfounding father Sukarno, but they may not really understand his
\nteachings. This is the reason to set up our own party, say
\nfounders of every party using such symbols, including that of
\nRachmawati Soekarnoputri, one of Sukarno's daughters.<\/p>\n
Rachmawati also seems to think that she shares the same right
\nto the presidential seat as her younger sister, Megawati Soekarnoputri,
\nwhose Indonesian Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is no longer seen by
\nmany as the champion of the little people, or marhaen in their
\nfather's words.<\/p>\n
Rachmawati and leaders of five other parties that did not meet
\nthe requirements to contest the elections set up the Pioneers'
\nParty, or Partai Pelopor, on Aug. 29, 2002.<\/p>\n
The party pledges to revamp the education system -- and
\nRachmawati may indeed be serious in raising people's awareness so
\nthey are not easily fooled and bought by false political slogans.<\/p>\n
Education is her active field of involvement, through her
\nstruggle to set up Bung Karno University, the establishment of
\nwhich was initially not granted permission during the Soeharto
\nyears.<\/p>\n
But like a few other parties, the party's core agenda for
\npolitical education is \"Sukarno's true teachings\", mainly
\nmarhaenisme, a proletarian ideology based on the dignity of the
\nself-employed, though poor, people. As with the other parties,
\nRachmawati and her colleagues would have to work hard to find an
\neffective way to sell this ideology.<\/p>\n
They seem confident enough. Unlike other parties riding on the
\nback of the Sukarno symbol, the Pioneers' Party logo does not use
\nthe bull, which is associated with Indonesia's first president.<\/p>\n
But even Sukarno, ever progressive, moved on from marhaenisme
\nto create other concepts that he constantly offered as
\nembodiments of Indonesian identity. One such is nasakom, a
\nconcept blending nationalism, religion and communism, -- which
\nsuddenly ceased to be mentioned since the aborted 1965 coup
\nblamed on the Indonesian Communist Party.<\/p>\n
Marhaenisme still holds relevance for parties like
\nRachmawati's, because it is basically about self-reliance, and
\nthe parties connect this to nationalism. The first party set up
\nin 1927 by Sukarno, the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI),
\ninitiated this idea linking self-reliance and nationalism, long
\nbefore the country declared independence in 1945.<\/p>\n
As seen in Rachmawati's statements on her website,
\nwww.rachmawati.com, the party appeals not only to the common
\ndisappointment in the current leadership prevailing among the
\nelectorate -- which almost every other party is doing -- but also
\nto feelings of betrayal of the founding father's heritage -- even
\nby his own daughter and her sister, the incumbent president.<\/p>\n
Policies that were \"overtly capitalist-liberal\" and \"bending
\nover\" to the International Monetary Fund has led the country
\n\"even further away from the goals of 'Indonesian Socialism' as
\nmandated in the proclamation of independence of Aug. 17, 1945\"
\nread out by Sukarno, she says.<\/p>\n
Diplomatic flops, like the loss of the tiny Sipadan and
\nLigitan islands to Malaysia, Rachmawati continues, reflect the
\n\"humiliating setback\" for a nation once known for its \"brilliant
\nrole\" in the international community, such as hosting the first
\nAsian-African Conference, another brainchild of Sukarno's.<\/p>\n
Thus the need for the establishment of the party, which she
\nsays was inspired by Sukarno's writings on the need for a
\n\"pioneering party\".<\/p>\n
It seems the success of the party would depend somewhat on
\nRachmawati's continued display of well-rounded criticisms of the
\ncurrent leadership -- and she has so far been the most
\nconsistent, vocal critic of Megawati among the Sukarno clan.<\/p>\n
But the party's battle lies beyond the bounds of family.<\/p>\n
Party Secretary-General Eko Suryo Santjojo claims there are
\nsignificant numbers of traditional supporters in Java and North
\nSumatra because nationalist pride is strong in those two regions.
\nMore support could be expected from South Sumatra, East and West
\nKalimantan, Bali, Maluku and Papua, he said.<\/p>\n
The party expands its map of potential voters with the
\ninclusion of poor, urban youngsters who see themselves as
\nnationalists or those affiliated with the largest Muslim
\norganization, the Nadhlatul Ulama (NU). It is no coincidence that
\nthe party once asked former NU leader and former president
\nAbdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid to sit on its board.<\/p>\n
At a gathering of thousands of NU members in December,
\nRachmawati told the audience that they could also continue the
\nteachings of Sukarno, \"which cannot be claimed by nationalist
\ngroups alone\". \"Take, for example, PDI-P. They've violated Bung
\nKarno's teachings,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur was to accompany her, but he was detained by other
\nbusiness.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, just this month, Megawati paid a courtesy call with
\nparty dignitaries to a noted Islamic boarding school affiliated
\nwith the NU in East Java, a stronghold of both the NU and PDI-P,
\nand home to nationalist voters whom many parties are courting.<\/p>\n
During Megawati's visit, NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi, who is
\namong those PDI-P is considering as Megawati's running mate,
\nspoke of \"a nationalist-religious coalition\". Some took this to
\nmean a possible alliance, in whatever form, between NU's oft-
\nclaimed 40 million-strong membership and PDI-P.<\/p>\n
Lacking any visible link to mass organizations, if the
\nPioneers' Party hopes to gain some share of the votes from a
\npossible NU-PDI-P \"coalition\", it would clearly take much more
\nthan Rachmawati's clever speeches.<\/p>\n
Outline of Pioneers' Party platform:<\/p>\n
With a national character in place and in the absence of
\ndomination from imperialist powers, the nation can achieve the
\naims of Trisakti as envisioned by Bung Karno: Political
\nindependence, economic self-sufficiency and cultural identity.<\/p>\n
Our programs include:<\/p>\n
o placing democracy in the hands of the people;<\/p>\n
o reducing economic dependence on foreign institutions<\/p>\n
o prioritizing improvement of the educational and health system;<\/p>\n
o ensuring that farmers in Java have at least two hectares of
\nland;<\/p>\n
o pushing foreign and local corporations to increase their
\ncontribution to their respective communities;<\/p>\n
o introducing collectivism to replace capitalism.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/can-another-marhaenis-party-attract-swing-voters-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }