PK : FEER

[Hadeer]

Terimakasih Ian ... atas artikel nya Sander Thoenes.

Didalam artikelnya Sander, saya pikir agak kurang pembahasan (reportase investigasi) mengenai pembentukan cabang partai yang sampai ke grass root. Karena menurut Ian sendiri menyatakan bahwa Sander kagum akan pembentukan tersebut yang hampir menyamai PUDI (Sri Bintang Pamungkas) dan PKI (1950 - an). Ini yang saya tunggu sebenarnya dari Sander analisanya.

But anyway ...terimakasih lagi.

Berikut saya postingkan Artikel mengenai Partai Keadilan dari FEER :

Terimakasih

Smile,
Hadeer

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FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW

POLITICS & POLICY

The  tumultuous  events of the past year have made Islam, more than ever, a
force  to be reckoned within Southeast Asian Politics. Yet far from being a
rigid,  monolithic  force,  its  manifestations  in  the  region are richly
varied,  and  more  often  characterized by tolerance and nations of social
justice than by the quest for an Islamic state.

ISLAM IN POLITICS

In Indonesia, with the world
's largest Muslim population, reformasi has led
to  the  flowering  of  some 30 Islam-inspired parties. In Malaysia, ousted
Deputy  Premier  Anwar Ibrahim launched his own reformasi campaign from the
steps  of  a  mosque.  Outrage  over  his  treatment  has  boosted Pas, the
opposition  Islamic party. It should become clear, in the months leading up
to  Indonesia's  June  elections,  whether  the Islamic factor will enhance
democracy  and  promote  positive  social  change,  or  spur a retreat into
identity  politics.  The  stakes  are  high.  By  enhancing  democracy  and
promoting  social  justice,  Indonesia's Muslim politicians could influence
other  Muslims  in  Asia  and  alter  perceptions  of  Islam globally. If a
liberal,  tolerance strain of Islamic politics fails to take root, however,
Indonesia's  non-Muslim  neighbours  and foreign investors will continue to
view Islamic politics in Indonesia and elsewhere with suspicion. This week,
in  the  first installment in an occasional series, we look at one peace of
the  Islamic  mosaic : Indonesia's newly formed Justice Party and its quest
for a modern, moderate brand of Islamic politics.

ON THE HIGH ROAD
Idealistic new Muslim party draws Indonesian youths.
By Margot Cohen in Bandung, Yogyakarta and Jakarta.


(Note : This picture is not printed in the Review)

January  28,  1999.   Achmad Rozi has never voted in his life. Disgusted by
ossified  party politics under former President Suharto, the Jakarta native
focused  his  energies  on  studying  law at Bandung Islamic University. He
spent  most  of his free time at the campus mosque, immersed in discussions
of Koranic teachings.

Now  Akhmad's  top  priority  is  translating  his  religious  ideals  into
political  practice.  At  the  tender  age  of  25, he heads the economics,
politics  and  law  unit of the Bandung branch of a new Muslim party called
Partai  Keadilan, or Justice Party � one of the 134 political parties borne
since  Suharto's  fall from power last May. With a fluency perfected at the
mosque,  Akhmad speaks earnestly about human rights, interfaith harmony and
bottom-up development.

The  most urgent task : elevating politics to a higher moral plane. "Partai
Keadilan  cadres  and  sympathizers  must  display very positive morals and
ethics," says Akhmad.

Six  months  after  its  spirited  launch  at  the Al Azhar mosque in south
Jakarta,  the  Justice  Party  is  emerging as a force to watch. Across the
country,  it has attracted hundreds of thousands of devout Muslims in their
20s  and 30s who are well-educated, articulate and eager to promote a fresh
political  culture.  While  many  other  new  parties  are appealing to old
loyalties  among  the  nation's 86% Muslim majority-reviving constituencies
and  recruiting  ageing  leaders  from  major  Muslim  groups  such  as the
Nahdlatul  Ulama  and  Muhammadiyah  �  the  Justice  Party  is striving to
overcome  such  boundaries.  That  means reversing decades of dependency on
well-worn public figures.

Without  a  headline  grabber  such  as  Abdurrahman  Wahid,  Amien Rais or
Megawati  Sukarnoputri  at the helm, the Justice Party hasn't received mush
attention  from the international press. The party's 37-year-old president,
Nur  Mahmudi  Isma'il,  is an American-trained food scientist more renowned
for his work on chicken sausage and cheddar cheese than domestic politics.

The  healthy  turnout  at party rallies and motorcycle convoys has startled
observers.  The crowds point up a well-organized network of activists drawn
largely from campus mosques and Islamic social-welfare foundations. For the
most  part, these aren't the same students embroiled in mass demonstrations
against  the  government  of  President B.J. Habibie � the majority of whom
remain  wary  of  party politics. Justice Party members have tended to keep
their  heads  down,  win  scholarships and gravitate towards studies in the
natural sciences, while deepening their knowledge of the Koran.




Emerging  force  : The Justice Party's stand on Islamic law has raised some
concern


Many  party  members deepened a mutual affinity on the Internet. Some party
leaders  and  members  met  via  a  religious  chatline  called The Islamic
Network,  or isnet, which started in 1983 as a forum for Indonesian Muslims
students  studying overseas. The Justice Party is now using the Internet to
broaden  its  reach.  It  has  its  own  web  site (www.keadilan.or.id) and
disseminates  its  take  on  political  issues  facing  the country through
regular e-mail dispatches to its branch offices and others.

While  the  party  strives  to  develop  a  hi-tech,  modern,  moderate and
professional  image,  its  cadres  adhere  to  a  social  code that appears
conservative  to  some  other Indonesia Muslims. Men and women in the party
avoid  any  physical contact, including handshakes. Smoking is discouraged,
but not banned. Female cadres tend to cover themselves with headscarves and
long  dresses,  stopping  short of the full-length chador. And proper moral
behaviour is a prerequisite to rising through party ranks.



Some  critics  recall a holier-than-thou attitude emanating from the campus
discussion  groups  from  which  so many cadres are drawn. "They are rather
exclusive," says Khofifah Indar Parawansa, a leader on the central board of
the  National  Awakening Party, which is linked to the Nahdlatul Ulama. She
worries  that  the Justice Party is out to "Islamisize" Indonesia, applying
"the parameters of Islam, not the parameters of nationalism and pluralism."

Women, marginalized in Suharto-era politics, form a major source of support
for the Justice Party

While  Justice  Party  leaders  insist that they want to build a country in
which  the  rights  of  ethnic  Chinese  and religious minorities are fully
protected,  some  ambiguity lingers over the question of Islamic law. Asked
whether  Indonesian  law  should  be  replaced  by Islamic law, the Justice
Party's  Jakarta  branch  chairman  Ahmad  Heryawan  replies  :  "why not ?
Indonesian  law  is manmade. Islamic law comes from Allah." Party president
Nur  says  thee  party may suggest certain changes in Indonesian law during
future  parliamentary sessions if it wins some seats in the June elections.
But  he  says, the Justice Party is not seeking to impose full Islamic law,
nor establish as Islamic state.

Since  so  many  of  Indonesia's laws are inspired by Islamic values, party
leaders  say  they  are  most  concerned with enforcing laws already on the
books.  "We  want  to teach people to obey the law, and make the understand
that  they  are  fulfilling  their  responsibilities to God when they treat
other  people  well.  There  is  a  transcendental element to it. That way,
people  will  become  more trustworthy," explains Zirly Rosa Jamil, head of
external relations for the Party's women's affairs bureau.

The  party  platform  condemns  the "materialistic hurricane that has given
birth  to  hedonism." Party leaders also have reservation about capitalism,
but they aren't seeking to wipe it out. "Capitalism, in a certain sense, is
good. But without morals or ethics, it will be dangerous." Says Nur.

On guard against corruption and inefficiency in the post-Suharto era, party
branches  plan  to  closely  monitor  the  generous credit schemes that Adi
Sasono,  minister  of cooperatives, promotes. The party also plans to offer
advice to small businesses as part of its aim to pioneer "service-oriented"
politics.  This  will be done through a far-flung chain of "justice posts,"
which  are now being set up. Sub-district branches will organize the posts;
they  will  also  extend  legal  advocacy, free health care and educational
programmes  for  school  dropouts.  The  scheme appears more ambitious that
those other parties embrace, which so far have concentrated on distributing
free or discounted food to cushion voters from the economic crises.

It  remains  to  be  seen how effective such grassroots programmes will be,
given  the  party's  financial  constraints.  The  party  says  it's funded
primarily  by  monthly  membership  dues  � 2000 rupiah (25 US cents) � and
donations.  It  says it has received a sprinkling of large contributions of
up  to  25  million  rupiah  from  Muslim business people, both pribumi and
ethnic  chinese.  Has  the Justice Party received any money from the Middle
East ? "Alhamdulillah," � praise be to God � "no," says Nur. "We don't want
to  be  co-opted."  In Jakarta, diplomats from a number of Arab nations say
they haven't even heard of the party.

The  party  wouldn't reveal how much money it has raised. But it appears to
have  scraped together enough funds to occasionally distribute envelopes of
cash  to  local journalists � a practice widely accepted during the Suharto
years.  Jakarta  branch leaders railed against corruption during a December
press  conference, but that didn't stop them from slipping 50,000 rupiah to
reporters  who were kind enough to show up. Nur does not approve : "It will
belitle the name of the party itself and disgrace our integrity."

The  Justice  Party  is  counting  on one formidable resource for support :
young  women.  During  the  Suharto  years,  women  were  marginalized from
politics,  and  generally thrust into ceremonial duties aimed at supporting
their  husband's  careers. Now, the Justice Party seems to be devoting more
energy   than  some  of  its  rivals  towards  correcting  that  historical
imbalance.  Special  leadership  training  courses for women are already in
progress,  and  married  women  with small children are encouraged to bring
babies and toddlers to party activities, if necessary.

"Not  all  women  must  go  into  politics,"  says  Nursanita  Nasution,  a
University  of  Indonesia  economics  lecturer  and  party  activist.  "The
important thing is that they understand politics."

In  Yogyakarta, where 60% of new members are women, 29-year-old Dwi Churnia
serves as a party deputy for politics and law. "I believe that every person
has  an  obligation to get involved to bring about change," says the Gadjah
Mada  University  graduate.  "There are many doors. I chose to walk through
the  door  of  the  party.  This is my chance."