Justice Party drums up better education<\/p>\n
The Justice Party is an Islamic-based party founded by a group
\nof young Muslim scholars and activists last year. The party's
\nsecretary-general, Anis Matta, recently spoke with The Jakarta
\nPost about the party's vision and its preparations for next
\nmonth's general election.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Justice Party makes no secret about its
\nideology: Islam. But nothing in the party's vision or platform
\nsays it is striving to establish an Islamic state.<\/p>\n
When the party says it is campaigning for the supremacy of
\nlaw, it is not even talking about shariah, or Islamic law.<\/p>\n
\"We're not thinking about imposing Islamic law in this
\ncountry. At least not until society is ready for it,\" secretary-
\ngeneral Anis Matta said.<\/p>\n
The Koran, the Muslim holy book, is not detailed about civil
\nlaw, much less criminal law, Anis said. This means that apart
\nfrom those laws stated in the Koran, other laws are the function
\nof place and time. In Islam, the main principle is that all man-
\nmade laws must serve the public interest, he said.<\/p>\n
The Justice Party's election platform resembles other
\nproreform parties contesting the elections, including the call to
\nabolish the military's political role, amend the Constitution and
\npush Indonesia toward democracy and a civil society.<\/p>\n
The party will campaign for a civilian president, although
\nIslam does not ban a member of the military from holding the
\ncountry's highest office. \"It's just that we've had a bitter
\nexperience with a military president in the past,\" Anis said.<\/p>\n
The party already has a presidential candidate: Didin
\nHafidhuddin, a scholar who until his nomination earlier this year
\nwas not well-known outside the world of academia.<\/p>\n
How does Islam influence the party's vision and platform?<\/p>\n
\"Our ideology is Islam. Islam is a complete system. Islam does
\nnot have the shortcomings found in other ideologies. Our
\npolitical behavior will be founded on Islamic values,\" Anis said.<\/p>\n
The Shariah Council, the highest body in the party, ensures
\nthe party's policies and behavior conforms with Islam.<\/p>\n
The Justice Party will campaign for better education and for a
\nfreer flow of information.<\/p>\n
\"The key word for a civil society is education,\" Anis said.<\/p>\n
He said one of the characteristics of a civil society was a
\nrational, knowledgeable and well-informed public.<\/p>\n
\"It is important that people have access to sources of
\ninformation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Anis said the level of ignorance in Indonesia was higher than
\nmost people realized.<\/p>\n
Many political parties are led by people ignorant of politics
\nand the political structure. People's political behavior will
\nnever mature as long as their political leaders are not
\nknowledgeable, he said.<\/p>\n
The Justice Party views information as essential in helping
\nraise the level of people's education.<\/p>\n
Anis said he was not as concerned about whether the press was
\nfree as he was about ensuring people had access to information.
\n\"An uneducated public tends to be irrational and that is why
\n`money politics' flourishes, because people will not cast their
\nvotes based on informed choices.\"<\/p>\n
The Justice Party also is campaigning to raise the status and
\npublic appreciation of art and culture.<\/p>\n
\"The fact that most graduates from the school of letters end
\nup working as journalists indicates there is something wrong with
\nthe arts and cultural education,\" Anis joked.<\/p>\n
The party's obsession with education can be traced to its
\norigins.<\/p>\n
The party began as a loose forum set up in the 1980s by Muslim
\ncampus activists concerned with promoting social education. In
\n1993, the forum founded SIDIK, Islamic World Contemporary Study
\nand Information, to carry out political studies and research.<\/p>\n
\"When president Soeharto resigned (in May 1998), it opened up
\nan opportunity for us to take part in building a democracy.
\nThat's when we decided to form the party,\" Anis said.<\/p>\n
The party was declared on Aug. 9, 1998.<\/p>\n
The party's stated vision is to build a just and prosperous
\nnation with Allah's blessing, and to establish an honest, clean
\nand respected government.<\/p>\n
From its original 250 members, the party has built up its
\nstrengths in the regions and now boasts over one million active
\nmembers. The party is represented in 26 provinces -- with East
\nTimor the only province where it does not have a branch -- and in
\nover 300 regencies.<\/p>\n
One of the appeals of the Justice Party is its youthful look,
\nwhich it derives from its executives, all between the ages of 20
\nand 40. Party president Hidayat Nurwahid is 37 years old, his
\ndeputy Abu Ridho Abdi Sumaiti is 34 and Anis is 30 years old.<\/p>\n
The party is run on a shoestring budget and is helped by the
\nfact that most of its executives are young people whose
\nlifestyles have barely changed since their college days.<\/p>\n
\"Our legislative candidates travel by road or by sea rather
\nthan by air. They don't receive lavish receptions. Often we have
\nto book our own hotels and arrange our own transportation, and
\nthis means nonairconditioned transportation,\" Anis said.<\/p>\n
\"This has kept our operational costs low,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The party is largely funded by Rp 2,000 monthly contributions
\nfrom party members and the zakat, or the Islamic obligatory tax,
\namounting to 2.5 percent for those who earn more than Rp 300,000
\na month, and an additional 2.5 percent professional zakat for
\nthose who earn more than Rp 500,000 a month.<\/p>\n
Anis denied the party had received donations from Middle
\nEastern sponsors.<\/p>\n
The Justice Party has succeeded in raising funds from the
\npublic for its work in assisting displaced people in Ambon,
\nMaluku, and Sambas, West Kalimantan, but the money is kept in a
\nseparate account from the party's own funds.<\/p>\n
With little money to spend on the election campaign, how does
\nthe party reach out to voters?<\/p>\n
\"We've been conducting a door-to-door campaign. We find this
\nmuch more effective in attracting voters and in changing their
\nperception that ours is a militant party,\" Anis said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/justice-party-drums-up-better-education-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}