Managing Politics and Islam in Indonesia

MOBILISATIONS AND COUNTER-MOBILISATIONS OF STATE AND SOCIETY 179them…we have a ‘golden opportunity’…[it] only comes once…we areconvinced that our votes will increase. 69He spoke of the need to present PPP as a viable alternative that promotednecessary change in order to address the community concerns of the DemocracyParty supporters.Metareum made a surprisingly frontal attack on government corruption,collusion, dishonesty and misuse of power. He appealed to the higher moral fibreof Muslim ulama, suggesting the party was the ulama’s inheritance, the ulamawere the source of its inspiration determining the party’s political morality andethics. 70 In a broadside against Golkar’s ‘immorality’, he morality and assertedthatWe still witness the growth of immoral politics, the politics of achievingobjectives by any means, along with deceitful political communication…shamelessly… Golkar claims to be the most meritorious group in thisRepublic. It is the most New Order, the most Pancasilaist—in short, it iseverything. In fact, Golkar’s marketing method tends to force…we witnessan old style of politics—namely, the political style of ‘preman’ [paid thugs]… Golkar entices people to change party [affiliation] with promises of apicnic…by giving pocket money…so that people will vote for the party.Golkar also threatens civil servants with dimissal if they do not vote for theparty. 71Identifying PPP as synonymous with Islam and morality (by enforcing the ‘solefoundation’ law in 1985 the government had sought to discourage parties fromidentifying themselves with distinct constituencies), Metareum directly appealedto the grass roots. In his effort to open a breach in Golkar’s campaign, he dug uplocal issues of simmering social discontent, linking them to Islam’s/ the PPP’sability or promise to construct honest, open and just government. He appealed tothe ulama not to break ranks with the PPP in order to join Golkar. 72 He claimedthat the party stood for weak economic classes, such as small business peopleand traders, ‘becak’ (tricycle passenger service), ‘ojek’ (motorcycle), and busdrivers, farmers and youth. He raised the highly sensitive issue of forced landeviction and the inalienable right to ownership, as well as the right to politicalfreedoms and personal security from law enforcement officers. In this all-outcampaign effort, he also targeted economic monopoly (of the Chinese) incollusion with state officials, ‘greasing the wheels with money’, and sendingindigenous business people bankrupt. He discussed government creditdiscrimination that favoured large malls and privately-owned shop complexes atthe expense of wong cilik (the little people). 73In particular, Metareum’s s public criticism of the state’s deployment of paidruffians and security forces behind Golkar’s election campaign suggests thateven New Order elite members were becoming fed up with the state’s coercive