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Why Indonesia’s minorities can’t depend on political parties to stand up for them

Has the time come for Indonesian political parties based on minority group identities to make a comeback? More pertinently, can they?

Last month, Grace Natalie, a Christian Chinese who chairs the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), said that her party intends to oppose syariah-based regional by-laws if elected into Parliament next year.

She said this in a speech — in the presence of President Joko Widodo — to mark the party’s fourth anniversary.

Mr Eggi Sudjana, an opposition politician from Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN), claimed Ms Natalie’s comments on the syariah law went against the Quran and filed a police report.

Ms Natalie’s plight reminds one of what befell Jakarta’s former governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama or Ahok.

It also underlines how Islamist identity politics in Indonesia has reached such proportions that there is no real champion for minority rights in parliament and a further erosion of such rights may be inevitable.

Has the time come for political parties based on minority group identities to make a comeback? More pertinently, can they?

Between 1999 and 2009, political parties based on minority religions took part in legislative elections, notably Partai Damai Sejahtera (PDS) or the Prosperous Peace Party. By contrast, out of the 27 parties which sought to contest next year’s legislative election — only 14 successfully made the cut — none fell under this category.

The decline of minority parties gradually started after the 2004 elections as Christians and other minorities shifted to the "nationalist and pluralist" platform, represented by older parties like the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Golkar and newer ones like Democratic Party (Nasdem), the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura) and PSI.

PDI-P and Golkar, which hold the largest and second largest factions in parliament, have served as models for all aspiring "nationalist" parties.

PDI-P’s roots go back to the old Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), formed in 1973 as a merger of the nationalist National Party of Indonesia and League of Supporters of Indonesian Independence, the socialist Murba Party, the Christian Party (Parkindo) and the Catholic Party.

Although PDI-P, along with the other "nationalist" parties, command a numerical majority in parliament, they have clearly failed to prevent or speak up against increasing discriminative practices against Indonesia’s minority groups during Mr Widodo’s presidency.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's annual report for 2018 places Indonesia as one of 12 countries where violations of religious freedom are "systematic, ongoing and egregious".

PSI, as the newest "nationalist" party, seeks to portray itself as the avant garde defender of minority groups but its track record is doubtful.

Although it has consistently condemned discrimination against minority groups, it also endorsed Mr Widodo’s choice of running mate for next year’s presidential election, Ma’ruf Amin, a conservative senior Muslim cleric with a known history for sidelining minority rights.

As a party with no seat in parliament, PSI did not have to endorse any presidential candidate to begin with.

By contrast, the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), a second generation Christian party founded in 2001, was largely successful in preventing syariah-based laws during its presence in the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2009.

During its campaign for the 2004 legislative election, PDS executed its "Joseph 2004" programme, inspired by the Biblical Jewish patriarch who in his youth was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers but in the end became a prince of Egypt.

It centred around the concept that Indonesian Christians were an oppressed minority but, due to their resilience and efforts, would eventually manage to have great influence on the majority.

It evidently appealed to Christian voters as the party went on to win 13 seats in parliament.

PDS was arguably the most successful religion-based parties in 2004, given that the Islamic Partai Keadilan, the predecessor to Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS), gained only seven.

In parliament, PDS consistently represented the interests of its Christian constituent, opposing syariah tenets in legislation with unapologetic zeal.

In preparation for the 2009 elections, PDS decided to become a more inclusive party, targeting 20 per cent of its legislative candidates from non-Christian backgrounds.

Unfortunately, the leadership of the party also underwent an acrimonious split in 2009. The party ended up losing all its seats in the election.

Unable to gain momentum for the 2014 elections, PDS decided to merge into Hanura in 2013.

Since then, PDS has experienced what its predecessors Parkindo and the Catholic Party did when they merged into PDI: It has been largely submerged. As such, it has been unable to represent its Christian constituent effectively.

PDS’ diminished fortunes in 2009 may have had something to do with growing assertiveness and improving organisation of Islamic parties such as PKS, PAN and Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa.

Radical groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front also became more vocal in this period.

Growing Muslim political identity inevitably forced political expression by minority groups into a retreat through "nationalist secular parties".

For a time, this was successful, as shown by the rise of Mr Purnama, a Christian Chinese Indonesian, to become Jakarta’s deputy governor and later governor.

However, his political demise has also shown that visible minority representation in the executive branch of government is by no means adequate without corresponding presence in the legislative sphere.

Events in the last few years have shown that Indonesia’s minority groups need formidable champions in parliament.

Legally, it should not be too difficult for minority groups to found a party.

The law stipulates that to be eligible for national election, a party needs to have governing boards in at least 60 per cent of the country’s 34 provinces, 50 per cent of the cities and towns in a province under a provincial governing board and 25 per cent of all the districts within a city or town.

In 2007, PDS had 33 provincial governing boards, 395 at the city or town level and 1,254 at the district level.

However, the real hurdle will be the retreat mentality prevalent among minority groups, made even worse by the setbacks of recent years.

Many Chinese Indonesians, for instance, already see Purnama’s criminalisation as a necessary "sacrifice" to pacify the intransigent majority.

While having minority parties in parliament may go a long way in safeguarding minority rights, we may not see their revival anytime soon.

As such, minority rights will probably remain embattled in Indonesia for the foreseeable future, putting in jeopardy 20 years of experiment with democracy and pluralism since the fall of President Suharto.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Johannes Nugroho is a writer from Surabaya.

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