Why the PPP and PKB supporters conflict in Central Java?<\/p>\n
By Agus Maryono<\/p>\n
PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): A campaigner from the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) shouted into the microphone: "This party
\nis based on Islam so voting for it means defending Islam!"<\/p>\n
"Now, is the PKB (National Awakening Party (PKB) based on
\nIslam?" he yelled to loud cheers from his audience at a party
\ngathering in Pekalongan. "Jumping ship from PPP to PKB, which is
\nnot based on Islam, is tantamount to being an apostate!<\/p>\n
"An apostate is subject to punishment in the same way as an
\ninfidel is," he shouted again.<\/p>\n
"Brothers, do you want to get a car ride in a brand-new
\nautomobile whose engine, paint and upholstery are new but whose
\ndriver is blind?" another PPP campaigner said in Purwokerto.
\nUnanimously thousands of PPP supporters gave a loud chorus of
\n"No".<\/p>\n
The National Awakening Party (PKB) was founded only last year
\nby Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, who has poor
\neyesight, whereas PPP was set up 25 years ago.<\/p>\n
At another campaign site, a PKB campaigner bellowed into the
\nmicrophone:<\/p>\n
"PKB is a party blessed by the central board of NU and also by
\nNU ulemas. If NU members do not vote for PKB, then they are
\ndisloyal to the ulemas who are heirs to all the apostles.<\/p>\n
"If you are not loyal to ulemas, you are neither loyal to all
\nthe apostles and you are no longer an NU member, or in other
\nwords you are an apostate," he shouted to his audience, who were
\nmostly rural people.<\/p>\n
PPP and PKB campaigners in many areas in Central Java have
\nresorted to such claims to win over followers. Many kyai, Islamic
\nteachers and scholars, who are leaders of either PPP or PKB, have
\nmixed up their political rhetoric with the language of religion.<\/p>\n
Campaign rallies would typically end with supporters feeling
\nfired up.<\/p>\n
Many people believe that campaign speeches like these have
\ntriggered clashes between supporters of PPP and PKB. A clash
\noccurring in Jepara district on April 5 and scores of others in
\nPekalongan have spilled a lot of blood after exchanges of
\ninsults.<\/p>\n
Cholil Khos, deputy chairman of the Pekalongan municipality
\nbranch of PKB, recently admitted to The Jakarta Post that many
\nPKB members are still politically immature.<\/p>\n
"This must be the result of slow political education.
\nPolitical education here is practically zero," he said.<\/p>\n
"Pekalongan residents are very religious people. They are
\nknown to be not only highly fanatical about their religion but
\nare also solidly united.<\/p>\n
"Unfortunately, they do not have sufficient political
\neducation. Things degenerate when campaigners in their political
\nspeeches work only to arouse the emotions of the audience with
\nreligious language inappropriately," Cholil said.<\/p>\n
"It is really erroneous to allege that PKB members are
\ninfidels simply because this party is not based on Islam," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to him, residents of Pekalongan, which has a strong
\nreligious background, will be easily provoked by such religion-
\nbased allegations. "This is a valuable lesson indeed to all of
\nus."<\/p>\n
The series of clashes between PPP and PKB supporters in
\nPekalongan began before the start of the official election
\ncampaign, when the two parties were busy making declarations and
\norganizing mass rallies. The situation continued toward the
\nbeginning of the last round of campaigning.<\/p>\n
Commander of military resort 071\/Wijayakusuma, Col. M Noer
\nMuis told the Post that up until May 28, as many as 18 clashes
\nbetween supporters of PPP and PKB had occurred.<\/p>\n
"We really do not understand why clashes continue to happen
\nwhile the leaders of the two parties involved have declared peace
\nright in front of me," he said.<\/p>\n
He did not have a record of the number of houses that have
\nbeen damaged as a result of these clashes. Cholil Khos, however,
\nsaid that up to the latest clash, over 120 houses owned by PKB
\nmembers had been damaged by attacks launched by PPP supporters.<\/p>\n
He estimated the losses at about Rp 2 billion, saying that
\napart from damaging houses in the latest riot on May 27, PPP
\nsupporters had also looted electronics goods and cash belonging
\nto PKB members.<\/p>\n
Cholil Khos said the clashes involving PPP and PKB supporters
\nin Pekalongan were more often provoked by PPP supporters, saying
\nthat on many nights they were fed with provocative speeches by
\nthree kyai from outside Pekalongan.<\/p>\n
"The kyais... make use of the language of religion to pursue
\ntheir political interests," Cholil Khos alleged.<\/p>\n
New Order<\/p>\n
Noer Muis said the clashes had occurred because of the failure
\nof the two parties to exercise self-restraint. "Their ulemas have
\nfed their supporters with narrow-minded fanaticism, a factor
\nwhich can easily trigger the clashes," he said.<\/p>\n
The chairman of PPP's Pekalongan branch executive board,
\nMahmud, however, refused to accept the blame. The clashes were
\ntriggered by provocateurs roaming Pekalongan who were remnants of
\nthe New Order regime, he said.<\/p>\n
"They are the pro-status quo group and would not like to see
\nunity among Muslims, particularly in Pekalongan. The political
\npower of the Muslims here has always defeated that of the (New
\nOrder) government," he said.<\/p>\n
Interviewed separately, chairman of PKB's Central Java branch,
\nK.H. Noor Iskandar al-Barsamy, agreed with Mahmud.<\/p>\n
"Our own observations show us there are status-quo groups
\nwhich are trying to destroy the power of Islam, particularly NU
\nas the largest religion-based mass organization," he alleged.<\/p>\n
"Many NU members, both at PPP and PKB, do not know about it. I
\nhave seen myself that PPP members seem to enjoy being provoked.
\nIn the Jepara case last April, which left three PPP members dead,
\nand in another one in Pekalongan last May, PPP supporters
\nlaunched the attacks."<\/p>\n
According to Cholil Khos, the fact that PPP supporters were
\noften the first to attack PKB masses is politically
\nunderstandable.<\/p>\n
"In the previous polls, including the elections in 1997, PPP
\nin Pekalongan, which relies heavily on NU masses, always won the
\nelections. At that time their political opponent was only Golkar.<\/p>\n
"In the upcoming elections, however, PPP will face a serious
\nchallenge from PKB, which will win over a great number of NU
\nmembers," he said.<\/p>\n
"This means that in the upcoming elections PKB will be a
\nstumbling block of sorts to PPP. That's why PPP will try to
\nmaintain its lead by hook or by crook. It will even justify the
\nuse of violence," Cholil said.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, to the PPP camp, which is also made up of NU
\nmembers, the fact that many NU members previously belonging to
\nPPP have jumped ship to PKB is considered a betrayal of Khittah
\nNU 1926, which is a pledge for the organization to be apolitical.<\/p>\n
"Until now no NU figures have revoked this Khittah 1926.
\nTherefore we must still stick to this principle," K.H. Mudatsir,
\na PPP figure in Purwokerto, said.<\/p>\n
"But why, then, do the leaders of PKB always stress that PKB
\nis the only political party for NU members. Are we, who are in
\nPPP, no longer part of NU?" he said, adding the stance enraged
\nmost PPP members.<\/p>\n
"PKB figures have often made use of their positions in NU to
\nwoo supporters. Of course, this is not right at all," said
\nMudatsir, who manages a pesantren (Islamic boarding school).<\/p>\n
According to him, the kyai who have led NU members to PKB have
\nbetrayed Khittah NU 1926.<\/p>\n
"Have they forgotten this khittah?" said Mudatsir, who has
\ncondemned Abdurrahman Wahid as a traitor.<\/p>\n
Invulnerable<\/p>\n
There has been another interesting revelation about the
\nfrequent clashes between PPP and PKB supporters in Central Java.<\/p>\n
The commander of Diponegoro Military Command, overseeing
\nCentral Java and Yogyakarta, Maj. Gen. Bibit Waluyo, recently
\ncited a report that NU kyais have given supporters of both
\nparties "magical mantra" to make them invulnerable. This was
\nblamed for the outbreak of the clashes.<\/p>\n
"I have witnessed this myself. These (parties' security
\nvolunteers), believing that they have been made invulnerable,
\nbecome overconfident of themselves.<\/p>\n
"So when the situation becomes heated... they want to prove
\ntheir invulnerability to bullets and sharp weapons. What happened
\nwas that many hands were cut off by swords," he said.<\/p>\n
Noer Iskandar has denied this.<\/p>\n
"It may be true that certain magic skills may be attributable
\nto the outbreak of the clashes, but even so their contribution is
\nvery little. The greatest influence has come from provocateurs,
\nbut sometimes security apparatuses consider this insignificant,"
\nNoer Iskandar said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/why-the-ppp-and-pkb-supporters-conflict-in-central-java-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}