Can religion and politics meld in party platform?

Can religion and politics meld in party platform?

JAKARTA (JP): Soeharto's resignation from the presidency last
month threw the door wide open for greater political expression,
and also put back on the front burner a long-simmering debate
over whether there should be religion-affiliated political
parties.

Last week, President B.J. Habibie said the government would
allow establishment of just about any political parties, as long
as their political platform was not tainted by SARA -- an
Indonesian acronym for polarizing societal forces of differences
in tribal affiliations, religion, race and societal groups.

Some applauded Habibie's apparently magnanimous statement, but
others were condemnatory. They said the President -- for many,
indelibly tarred with the brush of the restrictive Soeharto
regime -- was merely paving the way for him to use his own
discretion in approving any new parties.

Moslem scholars Amien Rais and Nurcholish Madjid, Catholic
scholars Frans Seda and Y.B. Mangunwijaya and political scientist
Ichlasul Amal are among those who have come out against religion-
affiliated political parties due to the fear it could play up
religious differences and ultimately tear national unity asunder.

Others strongly beg to differ.

Constitutional law expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra, politician
Hartono Mardjono and ulema Ahmad Sumargono, Abdul Qadir Djaelani
and Kholil Ridwan said Moslems -- the majority in Indonesia's 202
million population -- should be allowed to establish an Islamic
party.

"Islam, yes. Islamic party, yes. Don't repeat the mistakes of
the old regime," said Sumargono when he addressed a gathering of
around 2,000 at the Al Azhar Grand Mosque here yesterday.

"We welcome those who want to establish Catholic parties,
Christian parties, Secular parties, or whatever, but don't
prevent Moslems from forming an Islamic party because of fear
that it would endanger the nation," Sumargono said. "(The fear)
is sign of an Islamophobia."

He added: "This line of thought is the remnant of Soeharto's
regime formulated by (thinkers at) the CSIS (Centre for Strategic
and International Studies).

"As long as we uphold the principles of fair play, equality
and honesty, God willing, this nation will not disintegrate."

Sumargono did not comment on the establishment Friday of the
Syarikat Islam Party by members of the Syarikat Islam
organization. In 1973, it had joined with several other Islamic
parties to establish the United Development Party (PPP).

Yusril, who also spoke at the gathering, supported the concept
of an Islamic party but urged Moslems not to act hastily.

"Let us think calmly, let us prepare ourselves first.

"Just because people race to build political parties does not
mean that we should go out there and do the same," he said.

"Don't be afraid of being left behind or losing the momentum,
because we have the real (political) support, namely the Moslem
majority, because people know what's right from wrong."

He said a party that accommodated the aspirations of Moslems
was a necessity, but Moslem leaders needed to first cooperate and
form a committee to study and prepare further steps to be taken.

He called for cooperation between young Moslem leaders with
their seniors such as Jusuf Hasyim from Nahdlatul Ulama or Anwar
Harjono from the Indonesian Council for Islamic Propagation.

"Let us reach a consensus that Moslems would only have one
party, rather than divided into small parties which cannot even
win a seat in the general elections."

He spoke out against any efforts to limit the number of
political parties, and said no matter how many were now
established, a process of natural selection would weed out those
which were worthy from the also-rans.

"Let the people be the judge whether those parties merit their
support. Those which do not win people's trust will dissolve."

Flag

In Yogyakarta, Nurcholish Madjid and Mangunwijaya separately
appealed against the forming of religious parties for fear they
would cause unmanageable conflicts.

"I call on the government to issue as soon as possible a clear
directive on the establishment of political parties," Nurcholish
told reporters after speaking in a discussion at Gadjah Mada
University.

"I am happy that Pak Amien Rais has disclaimed any intention
of establishing an Islamic political party," he said. "I hope Gus
Dur (Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of the 30 million-strong
Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization) will say the same thing
soon.

"I hope that even with such a huge following, Gus Dur would
not establish a political party," he added.

"If people insist on establishing a party with a religion as
its flag, I am afraid what ensues is disintegration,"
Mangunwijaya said in a separate discussion at Muhammadiyah
headquarters.

It was a view echoed by Frans Seda in a discussion in Jakarta
Saturday: "Religions may motivate our actions, may become the
inspiration for us to select values, but they should not be the
'political flags'."

He called on fellow Catholics to eschew forming a religion-
based political party.

"If we felt we had to establish one, then it should not be
based on religion," he was quoted by Antara as saying. "That
political party should be 'open' in nature and be based on
nationalism and (state ideology) Pancasila."

He endorsed a suggestion of fellow Catholic scholar Astrid S.
Soesanto for the establishment of a party based on human rights.

"That particular party would be good, would be open and able
to accommodate the aspirations of anyone regardless their
background.

"We should establish a political party not because we want to
take over the control of the country, but to dedicate ourselves
for the nation."

Rights

Yusril reminded the public that it was the people's rights to
assemble and establish their own political parties. But
Abdurrahman instructed NU followers to wait for an edict on the
matter from their leaders.

"Nahdlatul Ulama should maintain its khittah, and not turn
into a political party," he said in a written address to a
gathering of NU members in Surabaya, East Java, yesterday.

Khittah is the official stance of Nahdlatul Ulama, which is a
social-religious organization and thus barred from involvement in
politics. In reality, however, individual members of Nahdlatul
Ulama, including Abdurrahman, have been prominent movers and
shakers in the political sphere.

"If NU members want to be involved in politics, please wait
for a guidance from the executive board, which will be issued at
the right time," Abdurrahman was quoted by Antara as saying.

Democracy

Prominent economist Faisal Basri noted in a gathering of
students at the Bogor Agriculture Institute in Bogor, West Java,
that the interest of particular groups only should not be behind
the establishment of new parties.

In a televised interview, he said people who set up parties
should not do to sate a lust for power. "The ultimate goal of
politics should be social welfare."

Political analysts J.B. Kristiadi of the Center for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS) and Indria Samego of the
National Institute of Sciences told The Jakarta Post separately
that people were racing to establish political parties to quench
their thirst for real democracy after the floodgates of free
speech had opened.

Both agreed the phenomenon was a reasonable release for a
people kept under tight control from political activities for the
past 32 years under Soeharto.

"The plug which had been clogging the 'bottle of democracy'
for years is now unplugged," Kristiadi said.

Kristiadi said the proliferation of new political parties was
also due to failure of the existing three political parties to
give voice to the needs of the people.

Since the early 1970s, the government has only recognized the
existence of Golkar, the Moslem-based United Development Party
(PPP) and the Christian-nationalist alliance Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI).

Kristiadi argued they were pawns in the game of maintaining
the political status quo.

"These organizations are only designed by the government to
strengthen its power." (23/44/swe/byg)