Justice Party only upholds the Constitution<\/p>\n
The Justice Party's Hidayat Nurwahid explains the change in
\nhis party's stance towards the Vice President.<\/p>\n
Question: What caused the Justice Party to change its position
\nregarding a Megawati presidency?<\/p>\n
Answer: It is our political position not to support kedzaliman
\n(cruelty, abberation) but rather the Constitution. Our life as a
\nnation is ruled by the Constitution's stipulations on the
\npresidency and vice presidency, and who obeys whom in the event
\nof the president becoming incapacitated, resigning or ending
\nhis\/her term.<\/p>\n
We are upholding the Constitution; it just happens that the
\nPresident is Abdurrahman Wahid and the Vice President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri. If different people were involved, we would still
\nmaintain the same stance.<\/p>\n
Q: How do you explain this stance in religious terms to your
\nmembers?<\/p>\n
A: I believe that there are many alternatives and that religious
\nlaw (sharia) is not uniform. Even in history, religious edicts
\ncovered many situations. So the ijtihad (intellectual exercises
\nin which scholars decide on subjects that have not been covered
\npreviously) made by the scholars are already rich in variety. It
\nis left to the follwowers to take their pick (and use this as a
\nreference for their own decisions).<\/p>\n
But in principle, sharia is there for the good of all and the
\nprevention of evil. It helps people consider which options
\ncontain more good and which will end up in something bad for the
\ncommunity. Edicts (fatwa) can develop with time but what's
\nimportant in this context is for us to (correct) the image that
\nMegawati lost the presidency (in 1999) because the Muslim
\ncommunity rejected her.<\/p>\n
In fact, the last election produced five winners: the first
\nwinner was Megawati's PDI Perjuangan which was chosen by most
\nIndonesian Muslims, so of course they did not have any problems
\nwith a Megawati presidency.<\/p>\n
The second winner was Golkar, most of whose constituents were
\nalso Muslim and who didn't have any problems about having a
\nfemale president either. The third was the United Development
\nParty (PPP) which stated outright its objection to having
\nMegawati as president, but this stance was later changed.<\/p>\n
The fourth winner was the National Awakening Party (PKB),
\nwhich, in principle, never had any problem with a female
\npresident. The fifth winner was the National Mandate Party (PAN),
\nwhose stance on a female president was similar to the other
\nwinners.<\/p>\n
It's clear that out of the five winners, only one rejected
\nMegawati for president. So, if there had been a vote, Megawati
\nwould have still won. If we had brought the matter (of gender) to
\nthe People's Consultative Assembly, a Megawati presidency would
\nhave been a certainty because the military and the interest group
\nfactions were not concerned with gender.<\/p>\n
But Megawati did not become president, and this was not due to
\nreligious edicts on gender. There was another factor that caused
\nMegawati to lose to Abdurrahman Wahid. The suspicion that
\nMegawati lost her presidential bid because of gender is therefore
\nrefuted by the facts as they transpired in the MPR.<\/p>\n
The questioning of why the Islamic parties now support
\nMegawati can be nothing other than a maneuver by Gus Dur's
\nsupporters seeking to keep him at the helm.<\/p>\n
Q: Are you saying that gender is not a significant issue in the
\ncurrent campaign for a Megawati presidency?<\/p>\n
A: Obviously. The facts testify to this. We all remember how the
\nIndonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) issued an edict against voting
\n(for PDI Perjuangan) but the party won anyway and the majority of
\nthe voters were surely Muslim. Even if all the Christians voted
\nfor the PDI Perjuangan, their number could not have been more
\nthan 15 percent.<\/p>\n
Q: How far will the Justice Party support a Megawati presidency?<\/p>\n
A: We will certainly rely on the existing mechanisms in the House
\nof Representatives (DPR) and People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR). Our colleagues in the two bodies will work towards that
\nend.<\/p>\n
Q: Is this stance unanimous in the Justice Party?<\/p>\n
A: The Justice Party and its members are all part of the
\nIndonesian community bound by the constitution, and by our
\nawareness of the importance of ensuring the good (maslahat) of
\nall and avoiding the bad (mudharat). We will, in all awareness of
\nAllah, ally ourselves with other parties who work for the good of
\nall; we will not enter into a coalition so that sins can be
\ncommitted.<\/p>\n
Q: Given the current support for Megawati, how long do you think
\nAbdurrahman Wahid will hold out?<\/p>\n
A: The problem is that Gus Dur has recently received a memorandum
\nof censure from the House and people. Even those outside of the
\nlegislature, such as newspapers columnists, say that there hasn't
\nbeen any significant progress and Gus Dur has yet to respond to
\nthe memorandum.<\/p>\n
Even (scholar Nurcholish Madjid) has said how difficult it
\nwill be for Gus Dur to survive the current situation. If
\nprofessionals have reached this conclusion, then the politicians
\nwould certainly have even stronger views.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the possibility of Megawati facing the same fate as
\nGus Dur if she ascended to the presidency?<\/p>\n
A: That will depend very much on Megawati. A national leader, in
\nparticular a president, would surely never think that they were
\ntaking up office because they wanted to add to the people's
\nproblems, much less violate the Constitution or cause the people
\ngreater suffering.<\/p>\n
A president would certainly (promise) to take up office
\nbecause he wanted to uphold the Constitution and improve people's
\nwelfare. If Gus Dur had been faithful to the reform movement and
\nnot been caught up in the Bruneigate and Buloggate scandals, he
\nwould not have found himself in such hot water.<\/p>\n
Therefore, if Megawati adheres to the constitution and works
\ntransparently (as president), there would be no reason to unseat
\nher.<\/p>\n
Q: Do you think she has the ability to uphold the constitution?<\/p>\n
A: Again, that will depend on Megawati. Everyone hopes that the
\nnext president will be able to gradually resolve the problems
\nbesetting our country. Actually, even regarding Gus Dur's
\npresidency, we were aware that the country needed more than one
\nor two years, possibly even five years, to solve its problems.<\/p>\n
But what's important is for the coming leaders to realize that
\nthey must not add to the existing problems or repeat the mistakes
\nof their predecessors. If Megawati could gradually do this (work
\ntowards solving the problems), we will give her our full support.
\n(Herry Nurdi)<\/p>",
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