New parties warned of sectarianism
JAKARTA (JP): Two Moslem figures have come out behind the establishment of religion-affiliated political parties, but a political observer has warned against dangers of sectarianism.
Cholil Bisri, a cofounder of the People's Awakening Party, said in a discussion here yesterday the establishment of Islamic parties had its legitimacy from Islamic teaching and Indonesian history.
"The Koran does not have special verses stipulating Moslems to have their own parties. But Islam (teaches) that Moslems are obliged to fulfill what is compulsory," he said. "Islamic parties should be seen as an inevitability."
He said further that in the past, the country had several religion-based political parties and the government could not prevent Moslems from establishing their own political parties.
Deliar Noer, a cofounder of the Moslem People's Party, said it should be the people, rather than the government, who decided whether Islamic parties were necessary or acceptable.
"The people will decide about this in the next general election and they will decide who should govern them," he said.
President B.J. Habibie's administration plans to hold the general election by mid-1999 and the presidential election later in the year.
Deliar argued the government did not have any authority to bar the Moslem community from setting up its own parties because there were historical precedents from the Dutch colonial era.
"Before Indonesian independence, we had two Islamic parties, Sjarikat Dagang Islam and Sjarikat Islam and they were active in fighting for the independence," said Deliar, whose doctoral thesis was on Islamic organizations.
"During the revolution years, Islamic parties were not a problem to the government and a fair election could be held in 1955. And it was tragic and ironic that the New Order regime froze all parties and allowed only the existing three," he said.
He said history proved that a multiparty system supported democratization and did not pose any threat to the national unity.
In the past, parties cooperated and formed coalitions in order to compete with the dominant parties, he said.
Deliar said it would once again be possible for new political parties to form alliances to push for reform and democratization in the country.
"I have witnessed new political parties expressing readiness to form coalitions to push for reform, which is now apparently stagnant."
Political observer Marsillam Simanjuntak said the mushrooming of Islamic parties nowadays could raise concerns about sectarianism among non-Moslem groups and threaten unity in the pluralistic society.
"I'm not against (Islamic parties) but I do not support them. What I want to say is that those parties could become sectarian in nature."
He questioned motives for establishment of religion-based political parties, and whether all groups, including communists, in society were allowed to set up parties.
He concurred that a multiparty system was needed to help uphold democracy and reform.
Following the loosening of restrictions in some political spheres, groups in society have competed to establish their own political parties. There have been more than 40 parties established, with the most recent being the People's Awakening Party, which is affiliated to the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization but claims to be open to everybody regardless of their religious background. (rms)