Will NU return to the political wilderness?<\/p>\n
By Hartono Hadikusumo<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In just three days the hopes for a Matori Abdul
\nDjalil-Syamsuri Badawi \"dream team\" was dashed to pieces, giving
\nrise to several interesting phenomena at the recent congress of
\nthe United Development Party (PPP) in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Ismail Hasan Metareum was re-elected chairman of the party
\nand the vaunted majority of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in Central and
\nEast Java did not translate into anything significant. The young
\nand vocal hopeful, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, was stopped at the gate
\nto join the ineffective noisy demonstrations. The other chair
\naspirants did not seem to cause any waves. Why? Several reasons
\ncan be offered.<\/p>\n
First, even from the start it was clear that the so called
\nundercurrent demand for NU chairmanship of the PPP was illusory
\nor fragmentary at best. The question was which undercurrent?
\nObservers did not fail to notice that NU is not a solid
\nmonolithic body as some kyai (ulemas) on the board of congress
\nsupervision liked to point out. There was, of course, Abdurrahman
\nWahid who supported Matori Abdul Djalil, but there was also Yusuf
\nHasjim who supported Ismail Hasan. Even Hamzah Haz, the
\ninstigator of the kyai convocation in Rembang, distanced himself
\nfrom the board after it was clear that he did not get their
\nnomination. Central Java put forward their own candidate,
\nKarmani, the chairman of the party's Central Java chapter.<\/p>\n
Second, the Moslem constituency itself is multicolored, multi-
\nsided, multi-polar. NU conveniently forgot this pluralism when it
\nput itself forward as the biggest Moslem organization. In fact
\nthere is another one with an equally large membership, namely
\nMuhammadiyah, whose members could be expected to support Ismail
\nHasan rather than Matori. And the Muslimin Indonesia (MI) faction
\nwithin the PPP, Ismail's political base, has a large following in
\nNorth Sumatra. Do not forget several other Islamic factions which
\ncertainly do not follow NU's lines.<\/p>\n
Third, the strident confrontational voice frightened away many
\nMoslems who otherwise would have voted for NU. The Moslems of
\nIndonesia have learned from experience that extremism would take
\nthem nowhere. They have been stigmatized by extremism of Moslem
\nparties in the past. They know that only by \"constructive
\nengagement\" with the government could they advance the cause of
\nIslam in general. They have seen in the Association of Moslem
\nIntellectuals (ICMI) the kind of organization that has been
\nsuccessful in making their voices heard in government circles.<\/p>\n
And so, as we can now see, the predicted ground swell of
\nundercurrent did not materialize. This become clear during the
\nselection of members of the election committee that was to be
\nentrusted with the task to form the new leadership make up. When
\nthe votes were counted, Matori found himself in fifth place with
\nanother NU member, Syansuri, placed sixth. MI captured the
\nremaining five places. With the 5-to-2 majority Ismail Hasan
\ncarried the day.<\/p>\n
Doubtless, Ismail's reelection drew a collective sigh of
\nrelief from many quarters, not least from the government circles
\nwho prefer a plodding, gradual \"pull\" towards democracy.
\nCertainly the soft speaking, mild-mannered Ismail is more attuned
\nto this style of gradual opening toward democratization.<\/p>\n
Ismail had proven himself as astute and wily politician.
\nUnlike his opponents, he never laid all his cards on the table.
\nHe soft talked them into believing that he was a wounded old
\ncamel waiting to be pounced upon. And this may call for a new
\nadage: Talk softly and you'll stick.<\/p>\n
So what does the PPP congress prove? Among other things that
\nthe power of the kyai is not as great as it was vaunted to be. It
\nis true that kyai are charismatic leaders whose followers will
\nfollow wherever they lead, but it is true only within the
\nconfines of their pesantren (traditional Islamic boarding
\nschools). They forget that there is a much bigger world outside
\ntheir pesantren.<\/p>\n
It also proves that NU, as an organization, is not yet ready
\nto move into politics. At the very least, NU is not yet ready
\nto play politics the way politics are played in this country and
\nin this era. Extremism does not pay, constructive engagement
\ndoes. They, of all people, should have known that better than
\nanyone else.<\/p>\n
And lastly, it also proves that the majority of the ummah
\n(Moslem community) is wary of politicians who get into a
\nconfrontational stance with the government. They understand very
\nwell that the bigger portion of the economic cake is not in their
\nhands and thus they look to the government for protection and
\nhelp.<\/p>\n
As for NU, after the PPP congress what next? There are bound
\nto be recriminations. NU will have its own congress soon and the
\ncry that is almost certain to be heard is, \"Who lost the PPP?\" On
\nthis it is clear: If they want to return from the political
\nwilderness they will have to plan their acts carefully and
\ntactfully.<\/p>\n
First, Abdurrahman Wahid, Yusuf Hasjim and the kyai will have
\nto pull the reigns to prevent the \"political\" NU from breaking
\nfurther apart -- which tear apart the \"social\" NU as well.<\/p>\n
Second, the politicos should tone down their voice. Strident
\n\"populism\" will only alarm the government and scare away
\npotential support among moderate Moslems which is numbered in
\nthe majority.<\/p>\n
It is true that democratization (if this is what they struggle
\nfor) has become a trend around the Third World, but this effort
\nshould come from within the system. They should learn from the
\nchairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri. The mild mannered way in which she answered the
\nbarbed comments of government officials convinced them that they
\nhad nothing to fear from her. So the secret is get into the
\nsystem. And to get into it means to talk softly. Get elected and
\nthen, and only then, try to convince the government that some
\nchanges are in order.<\/p>\n
The PPP congress will be their best chance to capture the
\nleadership. It is almost certain that Ismail Hasan will not stand
\nfor re-election. And the MI faction there is no figure strong
\nenough to take Ismail's mantle, not even Sri Bintang Pamungkas.
\nIf NU plays it right, the leadership will certainly be theirs in
\n1999.<\/p>",
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