Why the PPP and PKB supporters conflict in Central Java?

Why the PPP and PKB supporters conflict in Central Java?

By Agus Maryono

PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): A campaigner from the United
Development Party (PPP) shouted into the microphone: "This party
is based on Islam so voting for it means defending Islam!"

"Now, is the PKB (National Awakening Party (PKB) based on
Islam?" he yelled to loud cheers from his audience at a party
gathering in Pekalongan. "Jumping ship from PPP to PKB, which is
not based on Islam, is tantamount to being an apostate!

"An apostate is subject to punishment in the same way as an
infidel is," he shouted again.

"Brothers, do you want to get a car ride in a brand-new
automobile whose engine, paint and upholstery are new but whose
driver is blind?" another PPP campaigner said in Purwokerto.
Unanimously thousands of PPP supporters gave a loud chorus of
"No".

The National Awakening Party (PKB) was founded only last year
by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, who has poor
eyesight, whereas PPP was set up 25 years ago.

At another campaign site, a PKB campaigner bellowed into the
microphone:

"PKB is a party blessed by the central board of NU and also by
NU ulemas. If NU members do not vote for PKB, then they are
disloyal to the ulemas who are heirs to all the apostles.

"If you are not loyal to ulemas, you are neither loyal to all
the apostles and you are no longer an NU member, or in other
words you are an apostate," he shouted to his audience, who were
mostly rural people.

PPP and PKB campaigners in many areas in Central Java have
resorted to such claims to win over followers. Many kyai, Islamic
teachers and scholars, who are leaders of either PPP or PKB, have
mixed up their political rhetoric with the language of religion.

Campaign rallies would typically end with supporters feeling
fired up.

Many people believe that campaign speeches like these have
triggered clashes between supporters of PPP and PKB. A clash
occurring in Jepara district on April 5 and scores of others in
Pekalongan have spilled a lot of blood after exchanges of
insults.

Cholil Khos, deputy chairman of the Pekalongan municipality
branch of PKB, recently admitted to The Jakarta Post that many
PKB members are still politically immature.

"This must be the result of slow political education.
Political education here is practically zero," he said.

"Pekalongan residents are very religious people. They are
known to be not only highly fanatical about their religion but
are also solidly united.

"Unfortunately, they do not have sufficient political
education. Things degenerate when campaigners in their political
speeches work only to arouse the emotions of the audience with
religious language inappropriately," Cholil said.

"It is really erroneous to allege that PKB members are
infidels simply because this party is not based on Islam," he
said.

According to him, residents of Pekalongan, which has a strong
religious background, will be easily provoked by such religion-
based allegations. "This is a valuable lesson indeed to all of
us."

The series of clashes between PPP and PKB supporters in
Pekalongan began before the start of the official election
campaign, when the two parties were busy making declarations and
organizing mass rallies. The situation continued toward the
beginning of the last round of campaigning.

Commander of military resort 071/Wijayakusuma, Col. M Noer
Muis told the Post that up until May 28, as many as 18 clashes
between supporters of PPP and PKB had occurred.

"We really do not understand why clashes continue to happen
while the leaders of the two parties involved have declared peace
right in front of me," he said.

He did not have a record of the number of houses that have
been damaged as a result of these clashes. Cholil Khos, however,
said that up to the latest clash, over 120 houses owned by PKB
members had been damaged by attacks launched by PPP supporters.

He estimated the losses at about Rp 2 billion, saying that
apart from damaging houses in the latest riot on May 27, PPP
supporters had also looted electronics goods and cash belonging
to PKB members.

Cholil Khos said the clashes involving PPP and PKB supporters
in Pekalongan were more often provoked by PPP supporters, saying
that on many nights they were fed with provocative speeches by
three kyai from outside Pekalongan.

"The kyais... make use of the language of religion to pursue
their political interests," Cholil Khos alleged.

New Order

Noer Muis said the clashes had occurred because of the failure
of the two parties to exercise self-restraint. "Their ulemas have
fed their supporters with narrow-minded fanaticism, a factor
which can easily trigger the clashes," he said.

The chairman of PPP's Pekalongan branch executive board,
Mahmud, however, refused to accept the blame. The clashes were
triggered by provocateurs roaming Pekalongan who were remnants of
the New Order regime, he said.

"They are the pro-status quo group and would not like to see
unity among Muslims, particularly in Pekalongan. The political
power of the Muslims here has always defeated that of the (New
Order) government," he said.

Interviewed separately, chairman of PKB's Central Java branch,
K.H. Noor Iskandar al-Barsamy, agreed with Mahmud.

"Our own observations show us there are status-quo groups
which are trying to destroy the power of Islam, particularly NU
as the largest religion-based mass organization," he alleged.

"Many NU members, both at PPP and PKB, do not know about it. I
have seen myself that PPP members seem to enjoy being provoked.
In the Jepara case last April, which left three PPP members dead,
and in another one in Pekalongan last May, PPP supporters
launched the attacks."

According to Cholil Khos, the fact that PPP supporters were
often the first to attack PKB masses is politically
understandable.

"In the previous polls, including the elections in 1997, PPP
in Pekalongan, which relies heavily on NU masses, always won the
elections. At that time their political opponent was only Golkar.

"In the upcoming elections, however, PPP will face a serious
challenge from PKB, which will win over a great number of NU
members," he said.

"This means that in the upcoming elections PKB will be a
stumbling block of sorts to PPP. That's why PPP will try to
maintain its lead by hook or by crook. It will even justify the
use of violence," Cholil said.

In the meantime, to the PPP camp, which is also made up of NU
members, the fact that many NU members previously belonging to
PPP have jumped ship to PKB is considered a betrayal of Khittah
NU 1926, which is a pledge for the organization to be apolitical.

"Until now no NU figures have revoked this Khittah 1926.
Therefore we must still stick to this principle," K.H. Mudatsir,
a PPP figure in Purwokerto, said.

"But why, then, do the leaders of PKB always stress that PKB
is the only political party for NU members. Are we, who are in
PPP, no longer part of NU?" he said, adding the stance enraged
most PPP members.

"PKB figures have often made use of their positions in NU to
woo supporters. Of course, this is not right at all," said
Mudatsir, who manages a pesantren (Islamic boarding school).

According to him, the kyai who have led NU members to PKB have
betrayed Khittah NU 1926.

"Have they forgotten this khittah?" said Mudatsir, who has
condemned Abdurrahman Wahid as a traitor.

Invulnerable

There has been another interesting revelation about the
frequent clashes between PPP and PKB supporters in Central Java.

The commander of Diponegoro Military Command, overseeing
Central Java and Yogyakarta, Maj. Gen. Bibit Waluyo, recently
cited a report that NU kyais have given supporters of both
parties "magical mantra" to make them invulnerable. This was
blamed for the outbreak of the clashes.

"I have witnessed this myself. These (parties' security
volunteers), believing that they have been made invulnerable,
become overconfident of themselves.

"So when the situation becomes heated... they want to prove
their invulnerability to bullets and sharp weapons. What happened
was that many hands were cut off by swords," he said.

Noer Iskandar has denied this.

"It may be true that certain magic skills may be attributable
to the outbreak of the clashes, but even so their contribution is
very little. The greatest influence has come from provocateurs,
but sometimes security apparatuses consider this insignificant,"
Noer Iskandar said.