Christian party offer hope to minority voters<\/p>\n
Rais Hidayat, Research and Development Unit, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) is special because it is the
\nonly party representing the Protestant and Catholic minorities,
\nwhich passed the selection by the General Election Commission
\n(KPU).<\/p>\n
It is also is special given its limited links to mainstream
\nChristianity in the country -- or at least the religious leaders
\nstrongly linked to the Indonesian Churches Union (PGI) and the
\nBishops' Conference of Indonesia (KWI) and their formal youth,
\nstudent, women's and intellectual organizations.<\/p>\n
PDS members are mainly professionals from small prayer groups
\nwho united gradually over time through networking. The party's
\nbackground was initially obscure except for leader Ruyandi
\nHutasoit whose father was once an executive of Parkindo. He
\nhimself was president of the Doulos Foundation focusing on social
\nservices.<\/p>\n
The PDS is one of seven Christian-based political parties
\nwhich went through the registration process at the justice and
\nhuman rights ministry for the 2004 election. It is useful to
\nexamine its context in the experimentation of these minorities in
\ngaining a political foothold.<\/p>\n
Indonesian history has seen many different ways in which
\nProtestant and Catholic minorities have voiced their aspirations.<\/p>\n
In the 1955 election, in which ethnic groups and religions
\nwere fervently translated into political parties, Protestants
\nsolidified their political interests through the Indonesian
\nProtestant Party (Parkindo) and the Catholic community had the
\nCatholic Party (Parkat).<\/p>\n
Those parties gained solid support as reflected in the results
\nof the 1955 polls. In East Nusa Tenggara, a province with a
\nmajority of Christians and Catholics, Parkat took 41 percent of
\nthe votes, followed by Parkindo in second place with 18 percent.<\/p>\n
In Maluku and then North-Central Sulawesi (now divided into
\ntwo provinces), Parkindo's performance was equal to the
\ndemographic share -- a very solid majority -- of Protestants
\nthere. The same was true in North Sumatra province. Parkindo was
\nsecond in 1955 with 33 percent in Maluku and third in North-
\nCentral Sulawesi and North Sumatra with 11 percent and 14
\npercent, respectively.<\/p>\n
Nationwide, Parkindo ranked sixth with 8 seats in the national
\nlegislature and 2.6 percent of the votes while Parkat the seventh
\nwith 6 seats and 2 percent of votes.<\/p>\n
Their representation was sustained in the 1971 election, the
\nsecond since 1945. Parkindo remained sixth and Parkat at seventh
\nin overall votes. Regional electoral results also confirmed the
\nsustained loyalty of Protestants and Catholics to their parties.<\/p>\n
However, the 1977 election saw a radical change in their
\npolitical affiliations as the whole political system was
\nforcefully rearranged by the New Order regime.<\/p>\n
As Parkindo and Parkat were grouped into the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) together with the Indonesian Nationalist
\nParty (PNI) and a nationalist party with a strong socialist bent
\ncalled Murba, Christians' historical loyalties were cut off. They
\nstarted to identify themselves with their new parties or dropped
\nout of politics altogether.<\/p>\n
But this fusion was just a minor development, the major one
\nbeing the establishment of a single major party to become the
\nregime's political machine, the Functional Group (Golkar). The
\nvery strong -- sometimes intimidating -- ruling regime required
\nChristians, as well as everyone else, to increasingly identify
\nthemselves with Golkar.<\/p>\n
Such tactics indeed worked, as reflected in the 1977 results.
\nIn East Nusa Tenggara, a shoo-in for Parkat and Parkindo in 1955,
\nGolkar suddenly won overwhelmingly with 62 percent of votes,
\nwhile PDI was second with 35 percent. Though many commentators
\nsurmise that the numbers may have been manipulated, this figure
\nreflects the start of the Golkar identification with Indonesian
\nChristians.<\/p>\n
Other regions that were loyal to Parkindo and Parkat also saw
\ngrowing Golkar numbers.<\/p>\n
Instead of expressing their frustration with this forceful
\narrangement, Christian communities responded positively, at least
\naccording to election results at the time. The arrangement was
\njustified by some Golkar Christians as a new way of existing in
\nthe political arena -- close interaction with people of various
\nbackgrounds in either Golkar or PDI was increasingly perceived as
\na valuable association. It placed them on par with the majority
\nand, to some extent, gave them greater opportunities in national
\npolitics.<\/p>\n
While these benefits were regarded as blessings in disguise,
\ndespite New Order machinations, some Muslim groups resented it --
\nthe regime seemed to prefer to nurture the above, less
\ntroublesome minorities while suppressing the Muslim majority's
\npolitical aspirations. The regime's ban on public discourse on
\ndifferences such as those regarding religion worsened distrust
\nand suspicion between these majority and minority groups.<\/p>\n
Distrust on the part of Christians was particularly evident in
\nthe latter half of the 1990s when former president Soeharto,
\nseeking more political security, became more accommodating to
\nIslamic aspirations.<\/p>\n
Christians spoke up more on how their freedom was limited,
\nespecially the tighter requirements for building churches. The
\nburning of churches in the last years of Soeharto's regime was
\nanother shock, adding to fears of revived calls of the sharia.<\/p>\n
These shocks have been managed in various ways. Mainstream
\nChristians have sought more intense communication with Muslim
\nrepresentatives to ensure mutual trust.<\/p>\n
Prominent Christian politicians seemed to retain their belief
\nthat secular parties and the increasingly inclusive Muslim-based
\nparties are those that can support the interests of minorities.<\/p>\n
And while the threat of an installment of Islamic doctrines in
\nthe rules and regulations at the national and regional levels was
\ngetting stronger, a new generation of Christians began
\nestablishing new parties.<\/p>\n
This was evident in the 1999 election with the presence of the
\nDemocratic Catholic Party (PKD) and Love for the Nation
\nDemocratic Party (PDKB). These two parties, however, did not
\nperform well or pass the electoral threshold of 2 percent.<\/p>\n
This experimentation seems to have continued ahead of the 2004
\nelections. There were seven registered with the Ministry of
\nJustice: Two versions of the previous PDKB namely Carrier of the
\nPeace and Love for the Nation Party (PDKB) and Love for the
\nNation Indonesian Democratic Party (PDKBI), Indonesian Democratic
\nCatholic Party (PKDI) as a new version of PKD, the new Catholic
\nParty (Parkat), the Democratic Nationalist Christian Party
\n(PKND), the new Indonesian Christian Party (Parkindo) and the
\nProsperous Peace Party (PDS).<\/p>\n
For Christian voters disillusioned with previous political
\nchannels, the ideals offered by PDS can be attractive. For a late
\nstart in the political arena, however, the gains may still be
\nrelatively insignificant.<\/p>\n
Excerpts of PDS' vision:<\/p>\n
o To uphold the five basic principals of state practice
\nmentioned in the opening of the 1945 Constitution:<\/p>\n
a. Equal opportunity for all groups to take an active role in
\npublic life based on meritocracy;<\/p>\n
b. Freedom of religion and protection for that freedom;<\/p>\n
o To ensure separation of state and religion.<\/p>\n
o To ensure all citizens are free from fear.<\/p>\n
o To ensure all citizens can earn a decent living.<\/p>\n
o To make education free until graduation from senior high
\nschool.<\/p>\n
o To eliminate corruption.<\/p>\n
o To ensure law enforcement.<\/p>\n
o To build up industrial capacity along with agricultural
\ncapacity.<\/p>\n
Source: www.partaidamaisejahtera.com<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/christian-party-offer-hope-to-minority-voters-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }