Reflections on the Human Condition - Api-fellowships.org

72
SESSION II
will happen when they are in power....
On that question, when I talk with cadre base
PKS people and the district level PKS people, (they)
are very different. There are still a lot of strong Shariah
minded PKS people. But I do sense that the top level
leadership is sincere when they say that yes they are
good Muslims; their ultimate objective will have to
be the Shariah but they’re not ready for that; that’s
not where they’re going; that democracy is best, the
mechanism in which to achieve their goals.
I don’t know, I think they are incredibly attractive.
They’re the most disciplined of parties.” 22
That it is a cohesive political force requires one to examine
closely its proposed policies.
An interview with Endri Nugraha Laksana, SI, a founder
member of PKS and head of Commission C in the
Jogjakarta legislature representative from Kabupaten
Slamen held out a definitive view of the parties’ objectives: a
mission that envisions a society of moderate, humanist
Islam encompassing all of life, ever evolving towards
good, which will bring society closer to the Shariah.
PKS eschews revolution and is pluralist in its approach;
respecting principles subscribed to by others thus
enabling inter-faith interaction. Islam, according to the
PKS, is democratic. Nevertheless, it differs from western
democracy in certain very basic aspects such as the
non-acceptance of value-free democratic principles: for
example, the freedom to be an atheist. In short, despite
Islam being the party’s ideology, it has no plans to turn
Indonesian Islam into a streamlined, homogenous
religion whose exclusivity precludes the possibility of
religious and Islamic pluralism. Furthermore,
its proposed economic policies has an openly peoplefriendly
bias, promising a progressive redistribution of
wealth with no privatization of basic utilities and mindful
of the people’s welfare.
The thrust of its current policies is the eradication of
corruption. Not only does it support government efforts
to stamp out corruption, the PKS hopes, too, to succeed
where most others have failed, by ensuring that its
leadership consists of committed, clean individuals
who will walk the talk and practice what they preach,
as demonstrated by the House speaker’s rejection,
upon his appointment, of such ostentatious perks as
luxury foreign cars and hotel suites. All in all a very
benign platform for power, but power nonetheless.
Why power?
Socio-religious organizations, such as the NU and
Muhammadiyah have both decided at their latest
muktamar to leave politics well alone and not form
Ref lections on the Human Condition: Change, Conflict and Modernity
The Work of the 2004/2005 API Fellows
their own political party in the sense that membership
of one automatically makes the person that of the
other, despite the obvious advantage that this gives
them in respect of the pursuit of power. If such were
the case then the organizations’ political parties would
necessarily be large given the existing membership
(see above). However, the recent experiences of PKB
and PAN respectively have made both organizations
rather circumspect, if not cynical, towards politics.
NU’s disillusionment with politics is earlier than that
of Muhammadiyah as clarified by its current Secretary
General, Dr. Endang Turmudi.
“NU itu sudah lama in the political area karena
NU pernah jadi partai politik. (dari) 1952 sampai
1973. Situasi itu membina pengaruhnya terhadap
cadrenya. NU agak politics oriented masa itu.
Unfortunately, itu ada gesekan, kompetisi yang
tidak sihat tumbuh di Partai Persatuan Pembangunan,
P3, di mana NU sama diminang.. Cuma masa itu
ada soal di mana government mengatur semuanya.
Kelihatannya tidak suka dengan NU, makanya
yang leading P3 itu orang non-NU dan kemudian
itu—pistilahnya dicokotin, dimarginalise. Setelah
itu NU memutuskan—semasa itu NU bukan partai
politik karena tiga partai politik dimerge and then
formed PPP. Jadi. NU satu unsur saja. Kemudian
NU decide di muktamarnya di Situbondo 1984
untuk go back to its ‘khittah’, back to its task as a
social-religious organisation, which means that NU
waktu itu dissociate from PPP and then allow each
member to affiliate with any political party, not only
with PPP. Jadi NU berada di tengah-tengah. Kalau
dulu warga NU harus dukung P3, setelah itu diberi
freedom of choice. Silahkan nak jadi anggota apaapa
pun. Nah jadi memang satu keputusan yang—
karena NU memang sama dengan Muhammadiyah,
tujuannya bukan berpolitik. Tujuannya memang
membangun di bidang keagamaan, ya, kemudian
bidang-bidang lainnya. Jadi akhirnya kesana.
Bahwa kemudian ada anggota-anggotanya ingin
berpolitik iaitu dipersilahkan. Tapi you can be a
member of any political party but don’t use NU.” 23
This sentiment is echoed by the Deputy Secretary of
the Pimpinan Pusat Muhammadiyah, Dr. Munir
Mulkahn, SU.
“…sikap-sikap politik Muhammadiyah kan lebih sebagai
reaksi kepada perkembangan politik nasional. Masa
lalu, kan dari awalan Muhammadiyah itu bukan
gerakan politik. Misalnya pada awal kemerdekaan,
kan sebelum itu Muhammadiyah terlibat dalam
proses pendirian Masyumi. Ketika merdeka