The Crescent Star Party

Two recent front page articles (April 16 and April 19) on the Crescent Star Party (PBB) and its chairman Prof. Yusril Ihza Mahendra attracted my attention. What fascinated me was not so much the party's economic and political platforms, which endorse such things as a market economy, foreign investment, wide-ranging autonomy for the provinces etc. These platforms, important as they are, could well be shared by many of the other parties. What singles out the PBB, I think, is its emphasis on the need for Islamic ethical values in order to resist the current moral and economic crisis, as well as its complete rejection of any individual cultism and communistic practices in the governing of the nation.

The most fundamental problem faced by the country today is widespread moral bankruptcy. Under the circumstances, a set of economic and political platforms, no matter how good they may appear on paper, will not significantly mitigate the problem if political leaders are corrupt or degenerate. In this regard, I believe a government dominated by political parties based on religious nationalism, such as the PBB, is far more likely to pursue and accomplish high moral standards and alleviate the crisis, compared to a government founded on secular nationalism, such as one led by the Functional Group (Golkar) party or the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan). To be sure, a strict application of Christian moral values could be just as helpful in combating the crisis, but since the vast majority (nearly 90 percent) of the Indonesian population are Muslims, a government of Islamic parties would be more appropriate.

A pointed out by Prof. Yusril, the PBB not only espouses Islam as its guiding ideology and source of inspiration, but it is also ready, if it wins the next elections, to cooperate with non- Muslims to form the next government.

Another quality of the Crescent Star Party which I find attractive is its total rejection of individual cultism as practiced, for instance, by the PDI Perjuangan with respect to its chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri. Surely what is important is not so much any particular leader in the party but rather the system or vision envisaged by the party itself. Indonesian people have had the unfortunate experience of having two deified dictators (Sukarno and Soeharto) for about 40 years. If we should have another idolized president, Megawati for instance, the country could end up in disaster as in 1965 and 1998. Besides we really do not know what Megawati stands for and what is going on in her mind. Her extremely reticent personality and persistent refusal to take part in a public debate with the other presidential candidates will certainly cast a serious doubt about her capability and her ideas on how she would govern the country.

Furthermore, most Indonesians are wondering why those shameful and violent riots in Purbalingga, Brebes, Lampung, Palu etc. were perpetrated by her own cadres and followers. Is this violent or even communistic radicalism part and parcel of her party's ideology, or is it just an indication of her inability to control her subordinates? Megawati should come out of her shell and must not hide behind the charismatic image of her late father, who, some people think, was far from exemplary.

In my view, the best thing that could happen to this country would be for the Islamic parties to win the next elections and perhaps form a coalition government with the National Mandate Party (PAN) of Amien Rais. In this scenario, the Golkar Party and PDI Perjuangan would take up the opposition role.

MASLI ARMAN

Jakarta