Does the PKS stand for justice and prosperity?

Imam Cahyono, Jakarta

The image of the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) as a clean party committed to good governance with empathy for ordinary people was clear in the results of last year's legislative election, when it doubled its previous tally to gain about 7 percent of the vote.

The PKS is the only party that has the ability to mobilize the people to the streets and conduct peaceful demonstrations to voice its demands on domestic and international issues.

After losing their trust in other major political parties, many people hope the party will able to deliver on its campaign promises.

After more than one year, it is time to look back at the party's achievements, both at national and regional levels, and in the government. The party has declared itself a supporter of the government and has some Cabinet seats.

Some fear the party is disappointing its constituents. The party's stance on the fuel price increases seemed to have ended in an anticlimax. When the government announced its plan to sharply increase fuel prices last month, the stance of House of Representatives (DPR) members from the PKS faction was critical at first. But they suddenly backed down as the battle reached its climax.

Members of the House's budgetary committee from the PKS faction initially boasted they would reject the plan to rescind domestic fuel subsidies. But their defiance lasted only a matter of days, because in the end they agreed to the price rises.

When asked about his new position, legislator and former student activist Rama Pratama reportedly said, "This is politics, boss."

In times of difficulty, the demands of House members and the Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD) for increased salaries and other allowances showed their insensitivity.

Raising their own salaries amid widespread financial hardship is unreasonable, unethical and an injustice. Ironically, the PKS, which proudly campaigned for a "modest lifestyle," supports the policy.

The PKS is the largest faction in the Jakarta Legislative Council, controlling 18 of the total 75 seats, and many Jakartans hope this faction will effectively voice the grievances of ordinary people and pressure the local authorities to take concrete action in combating corruption and abuses of power.

Of course, the PKS' support of the government's decision to raise fuel prices has led to internal criticism. Many PKS members, leaders and sympathizers cannot understand why their party, which comes across as a defender of community interests, went ahead and agreed with the policy. They feel that the PKS is no longer siding with the people and has betrayed their trust. Raising the fuel prices by over 180 percent by average could be classified as oppressive. They feel they have become the victims of the party's decision to cooperate with the administration.

PKS leader Tiffatul Sembiring is aware of the restlessness in his party and has tried to accommodate grass-roots aspirations. Sadly, there is nothing new in his explanation, which emphasized that at the budgetary committee level, his faction had consistently rejected a increase in fuel prices.

In any case, the voices of dissatisfaction continued to ripple through the party. Thus began a heated episode within the PKS body politic. There are speculations of internal conflicts within the party.

On one side, the party is now being pressured to withdraw its support of the administration, led by PKS secretary-general Anis Matta. On the other side, Tifatul Sembiring and Hidayat Nur Wahid, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker and former PKS leader, stated that withdrawal from the administration was a personal matter, but did not represent the party's official stance.

The PKS seems trapped in pragmatic politics, as a party which is power-oriented and runs according to political interests. During the administration of Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid from October 1999 and July 2001, and Megawati Soekarnoputri from July 2001 to October 2004, the PKS and the PKS-affiliated Muslim Student Action Union (KAMMI) acted as an outspoken opposition and initiated various street demonstrations. Today they are absent from the street.

They only turn to the streets to protect their interests, for example at the Depok regental election this year. The day after the West Java High Court annulled the victory of the pair of Nurmahmudi Ismail-Yuyun Wirasaputra, who was nominated by the PKS, thousands of PKS supporters took to the street to oppose the decision.

For many, the PKS is an ambitious party. Collecting more than 7 percent of the vote in the 2004 general election, it has set a target of 20 percent for the 2009 elections, which would pave the way for the party to field its own presidential candidate.

So, the PKS now faces the challenge of maintaining the party's reputation as a moral force for change, while engaging in practical politics. There are important consequences if the PKS does not alter its current political stance. The party may lose the support of the eight million people who voted for it if it does not fulfill voter expectations. The PKS will lose its opportunity to become an alternative party of moral reform -- something it has been working for all this time.

James Fox, an Australian political scientist, praised the PKS as being a party of the future. The PKS is the last hope for Indonesian politics in general. It is the only alternative for the young generation, with leaders who are educated, hard-working and clean.

Without moral reform, justice and prosperity, the PKS is no different from the other parties. It is just a matter of power politics. No more and no less.

The writer is deputy chairman of al Maun Institute. He can be reached at icahyo17@yahoo.com.