PPP's quest for NU support never ends<\/p>\n
By Wisnu Pramudya<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): If the 30 million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)
\nMoslem organization is firm in its resolution to shun politics,
\nwhy do the United Development Party's (PPP) leaders persistently
\nseek its support?<\/p>\n
PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum's visit to Idham Chalid,
\none of the party's remaining founders and an influential NU
\nfigure, served as a reminder that the Islamic party still hoped
\nfor the NU's support.<\/p>\n
In 1973, Idham represented the NU which fused into the PPP
\nwith three other major Islamic political parties at the time.
\nOther leaders involved in this included Masjkur (also from NU),
\nHMS Mintaredja (Partai Muslimin Indonesia), Anwar Tjokroaminoto
\n(Sarikat Islam) and Rusli Halil (Persatuan Tarbiyah Indonesia):
\nThey have all died.<\/p>\n
Ismail, better known as Buya, once described the yearly visit,
\nusually before the party's anniversary, as silaturahim (a
\nstrengthening of brotherly ties).<\/p>\n
But as the country and its three political contestants gear up
\nfor the general election in May, one cannot help but wonder
\nwhether this particular visit was not a tacit plea for support.<\/p>\n
Given the Golkar's ever-increasing strength and the
\nintroduction of new campaign rules -- which some say only benefit
\nGolkar and disadvantage the PPP and the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty (PDI) -- it is clear the PPP needs all the help it can get.<\/p>\n
The question is, will the NU be the one to provide it?<\/p>\n
Political observer Maswadi Rauf thinks so. Of the NU's 30
\nmillion supporters across the country, at least half would still
\nhave emotional ties with PPP, he said.<\/p>\n
\"No matter what, the original identity of PPP as a political
\nparty for Moslems could not be erased just like that,\" he told
\nThe Jakarta Post over the weekend.<\/p>\n
PPP Secretary-General Tosari Widjaja, who hails from NU,
\nagreed. He believed that what binds NU supporters to the PPP is
\nthe Islamic teaching that the party strove to represent.<\/p>\n
\"The (PPP) chairman (Ismail Hasan Metareum) has often said
\nthat PPP is a legacy of the ulemas. And PPP does try to uphold
\nthe mandate of its founders,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separation<\/p>\n
The relationship between NU and PPP is significant, though by
\nno means an easy one. In 1973, the NU was one of the four Islamic
\npolitical parties which, through \"national consensus,\" fused into
\nthe PPP.<\/p>\n
At the time, thousands of pesantren (Islamic traditional
\nboarding schools) run by NU across the country, especially in
\nareas known to be strongholds of santri (Moslem communities) such
\nas Central and East Java, South Kalimantan and South Sumatra,
\nbecame an essential source of support for PPP.<\/p>\n
Most of the pesantren have substantial influence over their
\nsurrounding communities; that is why the three political
\ncontestants competed to influence them at election time.<\/p>\n
But Maswadi believed the PPP's political dependence on NU was
\ndeclining. He said this trend began at the 1982 election, when
\nmany NU leaders were dropped from the PPP's list of legislature
\ncandidates.<\/p>\n
This prompted the late Mahbub Djunaidi, a prominent NU
\ncolumnist and politician, to lead a campaign in several NU
\nstrongholds to desert PPP.<\/p>\n
This caused the PPP to lose votes at the election; it won 94
\nseats at the House of Representatives (27.8 percent of the seats
\navailable) while Golkar won 246 seats (64.34 percent) and the PDI
\nwon 24 seats (7.9 percent).<\/p>\n
At the previous election in 1977, the PPP won 99 seats (29.3
\npercent) while Golkar won 232 seats (62.11 percent) and PDI won
\n29 seats (8.6 percent).<\/p>\n
In 1984, the NU declared at its congress in Situbondo, East
\nJava, that it would withdraw from politics. Observers considered
\nthis event was a formal declaration of its separation from PPP.<\/p>\n
In 1985, the government introduced Law No. 3 on Politics which
\nprohibits formal links between political parties and mass
\norganizations.<\/p>\n
\"By the 1987 general election, the separation between PPP and
\nNU was complete,\" Maswadi said.<\/p>\n
It was around this time that several important figures in the
\nNU jumped ship for Golkar. Incumbent chairman Abdurrahman Wahid,
\nfor instance, represented Golkar in the People's Consultative
\nAssembly from 1987 to 1992.<\/p>\n
Tosari said he believed the formal separation of PPP from NU
\nor the other three parties which had founded PPP was \"positive\"
\nbecause it had reduced internal conflict caused by factional
\ncompetition.<\/p>\n
\"There would no longer be movements such as the one in
\nRembang,\" he said, referring to a meeting of NU ulemas in the
\nCentral Java town, months before PPP held its 1994 congress. The
\nmeeting was reported to be an attempt to takeover the PPP's
\nleadership which was controlled by the Parmusi faction.<\/p>\n
Campaign<\/p>\n
The ulemas' campaign was foiled, and Parmusi's Ismail Hasan
\nMetareum retained control of the PPP.<\/p>\n
The other positive development of the separation, according to
\nTosari, is that PPP politicians now compete with each other
\nrelying on their individual performance rather than their
\nhistorical ties with one of the party's four founding elements.<\/p>\n
But a lingering question is, how strong are the NU's emotional
\nties with PPP amid the increasing attractiveness of Golkar and
\nPDI, which have in recent years got better at using Islam as a
\npolitical commodity?<\/p>\n
NU figures, such as Slamet Effendy Yusuf and Chalid Mawardi,
\nwho are now strong supporters of Golkar, prove that PPP must work
\nharder to attract NU followers.<\/p>\n
Rhoma Irama, the famous dangdut singer who used to campaign
\nfor PPP but recently jumped ship for Golkar, is another example.<\/p>\n
Observers have said that the increasing ease with which Golkar
\nand PDI now use Islamic symbols may confuse the loyalty of NU
\nfollowers.<\/p>\n
But Tosari is optimistic: \"When it comes to mere symbols, NU
\nfollowers may indeed become confused. But when it comes to making
\ndecisions, the tie of Islam will prove stronger.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ppps-quest-for-nu-support-never-ends-1447893297",
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