The phenomenal rise of Prosperous Justice Party<\/p>\n
Muhamad Ali, Lecturer, State Islamic University (UIN),
\nSharif Hidayatullah, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Although the final result has not yet been declared, many seem
\nto agree that the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has made quite
\nan impressive achievement in the April 5 legislative election.
\nThe PKS won only 1.5 percent of the vote in the 1999 election
\nunder its old name, the Justice Party (PK); it has, thus far,
\ngained about 7 percent. Questions therefore arise as to the
\nreasons behind the success, the future of the party and the
\nfuture of Indonesian politics in general.<\/p>\n
Saiful Muzani, a political analyst, observed that although the
\nPK did not break through the electoral threshold of 2 percent in
\n1999, its members and activists seem to have worked harder to
\nconsolidate its ranks through social activities. \"Justice\" and
\n\"Prosperity\" became the two normative principles that the PKS has
\npromoted. \"Caring and clean\" became their campaign slogan.<\/p>\n
The PKS has been building an image as a party with a strong
\ncommitment to good and clean government. PKS activists,
\ngenerally, are educated, simple and clean. The PKS' peaceful and
\norderly street demonstrations on the Iraq war, the Palestinian
\nquestion and on other domestic issues before the March
\ncampaigning period helped build an image of a caring and peaceful
\nparty.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising that sympathy and support came not only
\nfrom religious but also \"secular\" leaders and the general public.
\nNurcholish Madjid, for example, became a guest campaigner for the
\nPKS.<\/p>\n
Image formation is important for the PKS. Its leaders are
\naware of public disenchantment at the New Order, publicly
\nassociated with KKN (corruption, collusion and nepotism). The
\nPKS has witnessed disillusionment on the part of many young
\npeople at the government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri,
\nwhich they saw as incapable of keeping up the pace of reform.<\/p>\n
The emphasis on a clean image has been quite attractive to the
\npublic within the context of popular grievances and uncertainties
\nabout Indonesia's future. The PKS is also promoting a change in
\nnational leadership and working on a alliance with other parties
\ncommitted to clean government.<\/p>\n
I remembered a time in 2000 when a PK member who was studying
\nin Britain said that the most important thing for the PK was to
\nact for the benefit of the people through real action programs. I
\nam not very surprised now by the current situation, in which the
\nPKS has gained sympathy from other parties and the public.<\/p>\n
William Liddle, an American analyst of Indonesian politics,
\nobserved recently in Yogyakarta that the PKS portrayed to
\nvillagers the image of an organized, modern and people-oriented
\nparty.<\/p>\n
As Saiful has suggested, although the PKS is known for its
\ncommitment to \"Islamization\" in Indonesia, under the leadership
\nof Hidayat Nurwahid such a commitment has been transformed
\nsubstantively into a campaign against corruption. During the
\ncampaign, the PKS did not promote exclusive Islamic objectives
\nsuch as the establishment of sharia (Islamic law).<\/p>\n
Unlike the PAS (the Malaysian Islamic Party) which promoted
\nthe establishment of an Islamic state, the PKS did not campaign
\nexplicitly to promote an Islamic state in Indonesia. Nor did the
\nPKS promote the controversial Jakarta Charter, which postulates
\nthat Muslims should obey sharia.<\/p>\n
Instead, Hidayat Nurwahid introduced the idea of Mitsaq al-
\nMadinah (the Medina Charter), a treaty between the Prophet
\nMuhammad and the Jews in Medina under which Muslims and Jews
\ncooperated and protected each other. In the Medina Charter, the
\nobligations and rights of all parties were justly recognized.<\/p>\n
But, I should add, the Indonesian situation is quite different
\nfrom the time of the Prophet and therefore the concept of the
\nMedina Charter should not be applied as formally and literally as
\nit was originally understood. Instead, it is universal values,
\nsuch as cooperation, justice and tolerance between different
\ngroups, that should be nurtured today.<\/p>\n
The PKS claims to be a dakwah party, one that promotes Islamic
\nvalues. Here dakwah does not mean to convert non-Muslims to
\nIslam. The PKS believes that although Muslims are in the
\nmajority, they are not Islamic enough in a real sense because
\nthey are still corrupt and underdeveloped. The Islamic values
\nthat the PKS always desires to propagate are cleanliness,
\nprofessionalism, justice, economic equality and recognition of
\nhuman rights.<\/p>\n
For the PKS, democracy and Islam are not incompatible. The PKS
\nis also a modern party, deploying all modern means to achieve its
\ngoals. Some of its leaders were educated in Western universities.
\nThe PKS seems to be promoting an Islamized modernity and economic
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
Islam and politics for the PKS are one, but the integration
\nshould not be formalized. Severing the hands of thieves and
\nstoning people for adultery, for example, simply cannot be
\nenforced under Indonesian pluralism.<\/p>\n
Tolerance is a value that needs to be strengthened. The great
\nchallenge for Islamic parties such as the PKS is to act within
\nthe context of a multireligious and multicultural Indonesian
\nsociety. If the PKS turns out to be exclusive or sectarian, it
\nwill lose its public sympathy and trust.<\/p>\n
Formalized, sectarian politics would not bring about security,
\njustice and prosperity for the people. Sectarian politics would
\nonly lead to social distrust, weaken public participation and
\ncause a sense of injustice.<\/p>",
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