Justice Party only upholds the Constitution

The Justice Party's Hidayat Nurwahid explains the change in his party's stance towards the Vice President.

Question: What caused the Justice Party to change its position regarding a Megawati presidency?

Answer: It is our political position not to support kedzaliman (cruelty, abberation) but rather the Constitution. Our life as a nation is ruled by the Constitution's stipulations on the presidency and vice presidency, and who obeys whom in the event of the president becoming incapacitated, resigning or ending his/her term.

We are upholding the Constitution; it just happens that the President is Abdurrahman Wahid and the Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri. If different people were involved, we would still maintain the same stance.

Q: How do you explain this stance in religious terms to your members?

A: I believe that there are many alternatives and that religious law (sharia) is not uniform. Even in history, religious edicts covered many situations. So the ijtihad (intellectual exercises in which scholars decide on subjects that have not been covered previously) made by the scholars are already rich in variety. It is left to the follwowers to take their pick (and use this as a reference for their own decisions).

But in principle, sharia is there for the good of all and the prevention of evil. It helps people consider which options contain more good and which will end up in something bad for the community. Edicts (fatwa) can develop with time but what's important in this context is for us to (correct) the image that Megawati lost the presidency (in 1999) because the Muslim community rejected her.

In fact, the last election produced five winners: the first winner was Megawati's PDI Perjuangan which was chosen by most Indonesian Muslims, so of course they did not have any problems with a Megawati presidency.

The second winner was Golkar, most of whose constituents were also Muslim and who didn't have any problems about having a female president either. The third was the United Development Party (PPP) which stated outright its objection to having Megawati as president, but this stance was later changed.

The fourth winner was the National Awakening Party (PKB), which, in principle, never had any problem with a female president. The fifth winner was the National Mandate Party (PAN), whose stance on a female president was similar to the other winners.

It's clear that out of the five winners, only one rejected Megawati for president. So, if there had been a vote, Megawati would have still won. If we had brought the matter (of gender) to the People's Consultative Assembly, a Megawati presidency would have been a certainty because the military and the interest group factions were not concerned with gender.

But Megawati did not become president, and this was not due to religious edicts on gender. There was another factor that caused Megawati to lose to Abdurrahman Wahid. The suspicion that Megawati lost her presidential bid because of gender is therefore refuted by the facts as they transpired in the MPR.

The questioning of why the Islamic parties now support Megawati can be nothing other than a maneuver by Gus Dur's supporters seeking to keep him at the helm.

Q: Are you saying that gender is not a significant issue in the current campaign for a Megawati presidency?

A: Obviously. The facts testify to this. We all remember how the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) issued an edict against voting (for PDI Perjuangan) but the party won anyway and the majority of the voters were surely Muslim. Even if all the Christians voted for the PDI Perjuangan, their number could not have been more than 15 percent.

Q: How far will the Justice Party support a Megawati presidency?

A: We will certainly rely on the existing mechanisms in the House of Representatives (DPR) and People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). Our colleagues in the two bodies will work towards that end.

Q: Is this stance unanimous in the Justice Party?

A: The Justice Party and its members are all part of the Indonesian community bound by the constitution, and by our awareness of the importance of ensuring the good (maslahat) of all and avoiding the bad (mudharat). We will, in all awareness of Allah, ally ourselves with other parties who work for the good of all; we will not enter into a coalition so that sins can be committed.

Q: Given the current support for Megawati, how long do you think Abdurrahman Wahid will hold out?

A: The problem is that Gus Dur has recently received a memorandum of censure from the House and people. Even those outside of the legislature, such as newspapers columnists, say that there hasn't been any significant progress and Gus Dur has yet to respond to the memorandum.

Even (scholar Nurcholish Madjid) has said how difficult it will be for Gus Dur to survive the current situation. If professionals have reached this conclusion, then the politicians would certainly have even stronger views.

Q: What is the possibility of Megawati facing the same fate as Gus Dur if she ascended to the presidency?

A: That will depend very much on Megawati. A national leader, in particular a president, would surely never think that they were taking up office because they wanted to add to the people's problems, much less violate the Constitution or cause the people greater suffering.

A president would certainly (promise) to take up office because he wanted to uphold the Constitution and improve people's welfare. If Gus Dur had been faithful to the reform movement and not been caught up in the Bruneigate and Buloggate scandals, he would not have found himself in such hot water.

Therefore, if Megawati adheres to the constitution and works transparently (as president), there would be no reason to unseat her.

Q: Do you think she has the ability to uphold the constitution?

A: Again, that will depend on Megawati. Everyone hopes that the next president will be able to gradually resolve the problems besetting our country. Actually, even regarding Gus Dur's presidency, we were aware that the country needed more than one or two years, possibly even five years, to solve its problems.

But what's important is for the coming leaders to realize that they must not add to the existing problems or repeat the mistakes of their predecessors. If Megawati could gradually do this (work towards solving the problems), we will give her our full support. (Herry Nurdi)