Fatwa pessimistic about fusion of Muslim parties

JAKARTA (JP): National Mandate Party (PAN) Deputy Chairman A.M. Fatwa said he was pessimistic about a fusion of Muslim parties and the establishment of a major Muslim party by the 2004 general election.

"Ideally, all Muslim parties should merge to form a strong major political party. But it is impossible for them to fuse in the next five years because there are strong psychological, sociological and political hurdles," he said here on Monday.

Fatwa was responding to a statement by United Development Party (PPP) Chairman Hamzah Haz and PAN Chairman Amien Rais who said on Friday that they would merge with the Justice Party and the Crescent Star Party to form a strong Muslim party.

Hamzah said the four parties would consolidate and strengthen the existing axis force in the next five years in anticipation of the general election.

"The axis force could be an embryo for such a fusion in the future while the existing Muslim parties continue making a consolidation," he said.

Fatwa, also House of Representatives deputy speaker, seemed to detract from his own party chief by saying that Muslim political figures should learn from past experience, when Muslim parties fused in 1948 only to disintegrate by the 1955 general election.

"During that time, Muslim parties fused and jointly established Masyumi. Two years later, the now defunct Indonesian Islamic Syarekat Party (PSII) was formed and the Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) quit the fusion in 1952. And numerous Muslim parties then appeared to contend the elections," he recalled.

According to him, the Muslim people in the country are still divided into the traditional and modern groups represented by President Abdurrahman Wahid and People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Chairman Amien Rais in the political elite.

"The fusion will depend much on these two figures," he said.

In his estimation, a real political fusion was still far away.

The sudden push for a merger of Muslim parties may have been prompted by President Abdurrahman Wahid who last week said that in the future there would only be two major parties -- his own National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Fatwa said that any attempt to fuse these parties would mean that a joint congress would have to be held as each party had their own ideology and statutes.

It would also be difficult for the Muslim parties to unite as some have a secular ideology while others a Muslim one, he added.

Separately, Arbi Sanit, a political observer from the University of Indonesia, concurred and said that Muslim parties should instead look to strengthen their axis force and form a political confederation.

"A confederation is more relevant and it will match with the district system planned to be deployed in the next election. The Muslim parties will gain nothing without it," he said, referring to the federation of political parties in Malaysia's UMNO.

Arbi added that Abdurrahman has betrayed the axis force which supported him in the last presidential election, with his recent statement on PKB and PDI Perjuangan.

The confederation will be effective in forming an opposition in facing both PKB and PDI Perjuangan, he said.

Arbi noted that it was also relevant for Muslim parties to strengthen their solidarity in line with the president's statement.

He added that Muslim solidarity and primordialism have risen due to the Golkar Party's past failures to channel the people's aspirations. (rms)