PKB hopes to benefit from its pluralist perspective

Rais Hidayat, Research and Development Unit, The Jakarta Post

Compared to other Muslim-based political parties, the National Awakening Party (PKB) has a reputation among non-Muslim and minority groups as an inclusive and tolerant political party, although the National Mandate Party (PAN) is also accommodating of minority groups, as reflected in the presence of non-Muslim legislators in the party led by Amien Rais.

The PKB's political outlook cannot be separated from that of Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, co-founder of the party, former president and also former chairman of the country's largest Muslim group, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). The party was established by Gus Dur's grandfather Hasyim Asy'ari and is inseparable from the NU, because most of its members also hail from the NU.

Although the party only won the fourth-largest number of seats in the House of Representatives (DPR), Gus Dur was able to win the presidency over the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) candidate in the 1999 presidential election with the backing of other Muslim-based parties.

In July 2001, however, the nearly blind Gus Dur was impeached and replaced by then-vice president Megawati.

Since his fall, internal conflicts have grown in both the NU and the PKB, although Gus Dur remains dominant in both institutions.

The 2004 general elections will provide an opportunity to see whether the PKB's reputation as a pluralistic party will have an effect in its gaining votes. There is a fear among the NU circle that the tolerant, good image may also backfire -- a perspective that has long been part of the Muslim organization.

The PKB membership traditionally derive from the NU, mostly from rural Java, particularly East Java. The PKB secured 7,034,707 votes in the 1999 election from East Java alone, where about 35.5 percent of total voters live. This province contributed 24 of the 51 seats the PKB won.

With Muslim voters making up the bulk of its followers, PKB has a solid advantage in the upcoming elections. The nationwide network of pesantren, or Islamic boarding schools, form its voter backbone. Students and former students, as well as their families and residents of nearby pesantren will very likely follow the lead of their religious teachers in casting their votes.

Historically, the loyalty of pesantren students and educators for the NU-linked party has been a given. In the 1955 election, the NU party in East Java won 34 percent of votes. The same was repeated in the 1971 election, even when there was strong military pressure to shift to the government-backed Golkar Party. The 1999 election merely confirmed the close ties between the NU and the PKB.

But being rooted too exclusively in a single segment of society can also be a disadvantage, as potential voters may feel excluded and thus limit the party's chances.

Realizing this, the PKB seems eager to reach out to non-Muslim voters and voters outside Java. The party possesses several characteristics that may be capitalized to expand its voter base.

First, its political platform is well recognized as nationalist. Established on July 23, 1998 by Muslim founders and with an all-Muslim following, the party is based on the national ideology of Pancasila.

Second, the philosophy of its leaders and members is communal and educational. In developing its identity, the new NU-PKB generation led by Gus Dur concluded that being open to other sources of truth and wisdom was key to their future.

Third, it has made significant investments in interreligious relations and minority rights protection efforts, provided by Gus Dur during his presidency. This is seen in Gus Dur's strong support of reinstating Konghucu as a national religion, and of his declaring Chinese Lunar New Year, or Imlek, a national holiday.

This communal and inclusive stance has extended not only to the ethnic Chinese community, but also to other minority groups. North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua, West Irian Jaya, East Nusa Tenggara and West Kalimantan are all fertile soil for the PKB.

Symbolic accommodation of minority groups is part of its strategy to expand its voter base. While the party has nominated non-Muslims as legislative candidates, unfortunately they are not the strongest candidates. Prominent Protestant figures Bara Hasibuan and Maria Pakpahan and former chairperson of the Forum of Indonesian Catholic Communities (FMKI) AB Susanto might be the exceptions, but the other candidates simply are not the cream of the crop of their representative sociopolitical spheres.

To be fair, this limited achievement is also attributable to the reserved support from non-Muslim communities.

First, the PKB logo and daily activities are perceived to be too Islamic-oriented.

Second, many people want to see Gus Dur admitting to his physical limitations in leading the nation and cultivate a successor, or put forth another presidential candidate.

In the end, this unfavorable internal climate may limit the party's capacity to use its many younger leaders to its advantage and achieve its target of winning 23 percent of votes.