Moslem-based party must sail between 2 rocks
Moslem-based party must sail between 2 rocks
The competition to lead the United Development Party has been
the center of controversy in the weeks prior to the start of its
congress today. Social scientist Amir Santoso believes the
party's biggest challenge is to simultaneously cater to both the
political elite and the party's supporters .
JAKARTA (JP): The current competition between certain leaders
of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the Muslimin Indonesia (MI) mass
organizations to head the United Development Party (PPP) is a
clear indication that political streams still exist in Indonesia.
The NU represents the traditional Moslems and the MI the
modernists. The conflict between the two factions is not new and
was in fact going on before Indonesian independence.
When the Japanese occupied Indonesia during World War II, they
lumped the NU and the modernist Muhammadiyah into a party called
Masjumi. However, as a result of internal conflict, the NU
decided in 1952 to leave the Masjumi and declared itself a
political party.
The two organizations were again amalgamated in 1972 into the
PPP, but the frictions still exist. In my opinion, divergent
political ideas are a fact of social life in Indonesia and all
efforts to unite the various political streams will therefore be
doomed to failure, particularly if those efforts are attempted
from outside.
Besides inter-group conflicts, however, the PPP also suffers
from conflicts within each faction. Today, in the MI, there is a
conflict between Buya Ismail Hasan Metareum, the present leader
of the PPP and Husni Tamrin. There is also a contest between
Matori Abdul Djalil of the NU and his senior, Yusuf Hasjim.
Weak
These conflicts show that all the groups lack cohesiveness and
also indicates that their organization is weak. Not one of them
is capable of circumventing internal conflicts. It therefore is
very hard to find an alternative party to counterbalance Golkar.
Indonesia's political style requires that the PPP leadership,
apart from possessing organizational qualities, have the
capability of elucidating the political culture. Organizational
capability is needed to keep the PPP unified. The heterogeneous
nature of the PPP requires a leader who is acceptable to the
various factions and who can effectively convey the aspirations
of the movement's supporters to the government. Unless these
aspirations are conveyed in a manner which conforms to the
standards of decorum and ethics of the ruling elite, they will
not be considered.
I believe that Buya Ismail Hasan Metareum best meets the
criteria for leading the PPP. His composed and non-radical style
is well liked by the ruling elite and therefore the government
will in all probability favor Buya Ismail to once again take up
the post. Buya certainly still enjoys a considerable degree of
support which makes it hard for his competitors.
On the other hand, the PPP could use a more radical and
progressive leader to enable the party to compete with the
Indonesian Democratic Party and rally greater support, especially
among the younger generation of Indonesians. Buya Ismail is not
this kind of leader. Therefore, should the forthcoming party
congress decide to retain Buya as party leader, he will have to
concede to being assisted by a party secretary general who is
able to communicate with the young but also knows how to convey
the aspirations of the party's supporters to the ruling elite.
The PPP can be compared to a ship sailing between two rocks.
One rock is the ruling elite which holds the political power and
the other rock is the masses of PPP supporters who expect the
party to be more responsive to their wishes. The new leader must
be able to guide the party safely between these two hazards.
The writer is lecturer of political science at the University
of Indonesia, Jakarta.