Election results brings worrying message in Ambon

Election results brings worrying message in Ambon

M. Aziz Tunny and Achmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Ambon/Jakarta

For the last couple of years residents in Maluku have enjoyed a
fairly normal life -- but the results of the legislative election
brings a worrying message about the religious divide that stoked
the flames of a civil war only a few years ago.

By Sunday evening, of the mere 5,000 votes which had been
counted in the province, the established Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Golkar were in first and second
place with almost 24 percent and over 15 percent respectively.

But even before the General Elections Commission (KPU)
released the results of its electronic tallying, it was clear
that in Ambon, the province capital, the Muslim-oriented
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) won in Muslim-dominated areas
while the Christian-based Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) won most
votes in Christian areas.

Ethnic and religious conflict plagued Ambon from January 1999
to 2002 and ended following arduous efforts for peace. A trivial
dispute between a driver and a passenger of different religions
spread into an orgy of killings and destruction in which
thousands died on both sides.

Peace pacts have been followed by attempts at addressing basic
needs such as housing for some 200,000 homeless refugees. But the
difficulty in achieving a more solid peace among Christians and
Muslims has been blamed in part on the government's reluctance to
bring the masterminds of the violence to justice.

An unsettled problem has been the practice of people of one
religion occupying an empty home or land belonging to someone of
another religion, who still fear coming home despite officials'
assurances of safety.

Golkar legislative candidate Hamzah Sangaji earlier warned of
the "dangerous" potential of a leaning toward the PKS and the PDS
based on religion.

Though PDI-P and Golkar are winning, executives of the Maluku
chapter of PKS said the relative success of the PKS and the PDS
reflected people's feelings that these parties "struggled for
their aspirations" and that the parties could improve local and
national conditions.

A voter for PDS, Helen Pesulima, said she voted for the party
because she hoped it could help "change the decadent morals of
this nation."

"This nation is in a multidimensional crisis including its
leadership. I'm sure that representatives from a religious
background can change this ailing country."

The election showed PKS leading in several areas which are
known as Muslim subdistricts, such as Waihaong, Kebun Cengkih and
Batumerah. People evidently preferred the PKS to other Muslim-
based parties contesting for votes in Maluku.

The PDS won in the Christian-populated subdistricts such as
Kudamati, Karangpanjang, Batumeja and Passo, and defeated secular
parties, including the PDI-P and Golkar.

Although the government revoked the civil emergency status in
September last year, the community remains largely segregated.

Sociologist Thamrin Amal Tomagola, however, said that although
the temporary success of the PKS and the PDS may be worrying, it
would not trigger new conflicts.

"I know that people are not easily provoked and involved in
new conflicts nowadays" he said. Many people are seeking an
alternative to the "old parties" which have failed to solve their
real problems, especially regarding property ownership, he added.

Meanwhile, M. Junus, the leader of the Maluku chapter of a
research body affiliated to Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's
largest Muslim organization, said that regardless of the final
election results, "PDS and PKS must cooperate to check overt
fanaticism."