Nostalgia the only thing PBB has to offer voters

Nostalgia the only thing PBB has to offer voters

Anton Doni, Head Research and Development Unit, The Jakarta Post

It may not be possible for the handsome Yusril Ihza Mahendra
to lead his Crescent Star Party (PBB) to an improved position in
this April's legislative elections, compared to the 1999
election. At that time the party was only able to secure 2.05
million votes, or less than two percent of all votes. It was able
to pass the minimum threshold for eligible parties of 2 percent
of legislative seats, however.

Yusril, the current justice minister, who usually exudes a lot
of self-confidence, must face the reality that in this election
battle, PBB is even less solid than it was five years ago,
following several internal party conflicts and the dismissal of
several "rebellious" executives.

One of biggest rivals for this party is the small, but well
organized Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Strong nostalgic sentiment about the good old days of the
hard-line Islamist Masjumi Party in the 1950s will likely be the
most that PBB can offer to voters. In the country's first general
elections in 1955, Masjumi came in second overall. Masjumi
strongly campaigned for the establishment of an Islamic state
with full implementation of Islamic laws. PBB is regarded as the
rebirth of Masjumi, which was outlawed by then president Sukarno
in 1960s.

In the party's first congress in 2000, Yusril invited three
other small parties, which also claimed themselves as the
heritage of Masjumi to jointly establish a united Muslim party.
The parties he invited were the Islamic People's Party (PUI), the
Indonesian Islamic Political Party of Masyumi (PPII Masyumi), and
New Masyumi Party. None of those three became eligible for the
2004 election.

Even if Yusril, former president Soeharto's speech writer,
could reach an agreement with those three parties, it does not
mean much, because they represented, in total, less than one
million voters nationwide in the 1999 election.

More often appearing as a secular Muslim intellectual, Yusril
cannot escape ideological jargon in his speeches. But it is a
risk that he will take, hoping to tap into a greater voter base
of hard-line Muslims.

His party is hoping that more Muslim voters will choose PBB
instead of the secular nationalist parties like the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party, as
well as the increasingly secular Muslim-based parties, like the
National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party
(PAN).

In terms of popularity, Yusril still cannot compete with the
leaders of other major political parties. Recent history has
thrust figures like PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri,
PAN's Amien Rais, and PKB founder Abdurrahman Wahid, several
steps ahead and the current polls confirm their leading position.

PBB will also face serious competition in trying to sway a
bigger share of modern, liberal Muslims. Voters of this type will
be more likely choose PAN and Amien Rais.

PBB's platform is quite simply not conducive to building
broad-based support. Different from the tolerant PAN and PKB, who
accommodate non-Muslims around this ethnically and religiously
diverse country, PBB has declared that it would never accommodate
non-Muslims. Its jargon is consistently and purely Islamic,
including their call for the enforcement of sharia.

Its definitions of "being Islamic" and "struggling for Islam"
seem to be overly formal. This is, to a certain extent,
manifested in Yusril's effort, in his capacity as minister of
justice, to incorporate Islamic doctrines in the draft criminal
code, including sexual behavior. His attempt has received strong
opposition, including from many Muslim groups.

PBB's strategy is different from PKS. A "system" with strong
Islamic ideology is for the long-term agenda, but value-weighted
activities are what PKS is showing nowadays. PBB does not have
such an outlook.

Its organizational outlook is also now seriously challenged by
PKS. For ordinary people, "being Islamic" sometimes is simply
associated with being orderly, peaceful and clean. And for this,
PKS now is the champion. PBB is left behind PKS in portraying
itself as a visionary, modernist, intellectual Muslim-based
party.

Jakarta and West Java, where PBB gained a significant number
of votes in 1999, seem to be fragile areas for the party this
year. PKS's performance has been quite convincing in these two
provinces. In 1999, the highest support for PBB was from West
Java where it secured 3 seats. Jakarta contributed one seat, as
did nine other regions.

PBB hopes to consolidate and garner votes from members of its
non-political wing, the Indonesian Islamic Propagation Assembly
(DDII), which was established following the crack down on Masyumi
in 1960.

It is not an easy job, and may even be a mission impossible
for PBB to make a real impact based exclusively on Masyumi
nostalgia. The political aspirations of the children of Masyumi
members have been channeled through larger parties such as the
United Development Party (PPP). 1955 just might be too long ago
for most people to remember. Thus, the target of 25 percent, as
Yusril claimed, sounds wildly optimistic.