Islamic-Based Parties Not Solid in Coalition

Semarang, C Java (Antara) - Political analyst Susilo Utomo of the Diponegoro University said it is difficult to build a strong coalition of Islamic political parties because they had no unifying figure. "Such a coalition will need a unifying figure for all parties involved. Now, is there any figure who can unite the Islamic parties?" Susilo questioned here on Tuesday. He said the National Awakening Party (PKB), an Islamic political party that won the largest percentage of votes among the Islamic parties in the recent legislative elections, had clearly rejected joining a coalition of Islamic political parties. The reluctance of the PKB to join a coalition of Islamic parties, in the Greater Indonesia coalition for example, is understandable because it had a traumatic experience with such an alliance. "PKB had a traumatic experience with the axis force coalition in 1999. At that time, the axis force supported Abdurrahman Wahid of the PKB as the president but it later toppled him," Susilo added. The traumatic experience was unforgettable for followers of the country's largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). Therefore, Susilo argued, the PKB currently tends to choose nationalist parties for a coalition, rather than Islamic parties, even if the PKB itself is an Islamic party with the largest number of votes (among Islamic parties) in the recent legislative election. Apart from that, the other Islamic party, namely the United Development Party (PPP), is experiencing an internal rift between the camp of Surayadharma Ali and that of several other party functionaries. Some PPP functionaries disagreed with its chairman Suryadharma's steps to explicitly close ranks with the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and support its chairman Prabowo Subianto as a presidential candidate. "The internal rift within the PPP and the attitude of the PKB, which clearly rejected joining an Islamic coalition, pose a difficulty to the Islamic political parties to build a solid coalition," he said. (*)