Ref: Apakah boss PKS anggota MUI?. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/01/31/pks-boss-arrest-will-impact-islamic-parties-says-din.html
PKS boss’ arrest will impact Islamic parties, says Din The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta | National | Thu, January 31 2013, 2:24 PM Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said on Thursday that the arrest of the chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, in a bribery case centering on the government’s procurement of imported meat would deal a blow to the image of Islamic parties. “I was really startled by the arrest of the PKS chairman. It will have an impact not only him, but his party and Islamic parties in general,” said Din after he dedicated Perak Mosque in Kotagede, Yogyakarta. He said that corruption cases involving Islamic parties posed a great problem for Muslims in the country. According to him, such situations reflected the fact that Islam-based parties could not fully incorporate Islamic values in their activities anymore. “It doesn’t come as a surprise how lots of people are making jokes about how there is no longer a difference between Islamic parties and secular parties. On the positive side, all of the Islamic parties are fighting for Islamic values, but on the negative side, many of their leaders have been summoned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), they say,” said Din as quoted by Antara news agency. On Wednesday, the KPK declared Luthfi a suspect in a bribery case. Din said that all sides, which included state officials, the House of Representatives (DPR) members, and those from political parties, should use the case for “muhasabah” or self-evaluation. “I think that all sides can use the case for self-evaluation so that in the future, they will be really committed to eradicating corruption, which is troubling for the nation and a real crime against the people,” said Din. (ebf) ++++ http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/01/31/arrest-pks-boss-start-wider-political-turmoil-says-expert.html Arrest of PKS boss the start of wider political turmoil, says expert Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Bantul | National | Thu, January 31 2013, 4:51 PM The arrest of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is just part of a wider process of political intrigue that will occur in the run up to the 2014 general election, an expert says. However, Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah University (UMY) rector Bambang Cipto said on Thursday that he hoped the arrest of Luthfi would be the last example of such intrigue. “All parties played out a draw,” he said. Bambang said that with the Luthfi’s arrest, no political parties would dare to claim themselves to be “the cleanest party”. Ahead of the 2014 election, all political parties were trying to improve their image, he said. Claiming itself to be an Islamic-based party, the PKS and other Islamic political parties had in fact misused Islamic symbols to strengthen their own image. “We still don’t have any party leaders that can say they are ‘thinkers’. Most of them are just opportunists,” added Bambang. Nevertheless, he said, the effect of Luthfi’s arrest was likely to be only the beginning. “We will have more issues coming up ahead of the 2014 election,” said Bambang. The secretary of psychology of the Islamic Education Doctoral Program, Nurul Yamin, said corrupt practices could be seen in politicians from almost all political parties and had worsened the country’s position on the international stage. In the field of human development, particularly in the education sector, Indonesia ranks between the 102nd and the 112th among 137 countries over the last 11 years. “The country’s development has suffered quite a drastic decline,” said Nurul. According to the Human Development Index (HDI) report issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Indonesia ranked 124th in 2011, a decline from 108th in 2010 and 105th in 1999. (ebf) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
