70 islam, politics and change
politics and an increasingly capital-intensive political competition.⁹¹
This – in addition to the rampant corruption in regional administrations –
forces political parties to collect huge amounts of money for regional
elections as well as other political activities. In this situation, just like
other parties, the pks relied heavily on its practically minded politicians.
During Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s presidency, the pks showed
another peculiar pattern of coalition behaviour, in which it took coalition
agreements hostage for political leverage. In Yudhoyono’s first term
(2005–2009) as a coalition partner, the pks was involved in political
bargaining with the president regarding the plan to raise oil prices. At
first, pks leaders rejected the plan as it was unpopular and could lead to a
heavier economic burden on Indonesians already struggling to make ends
meet. The pks clearly understood that supporting this government policy
would incite negative reactions from its supporters. The party president,
Tifatul Sembiring, repeatedly insisted that his party rejected the plan.
One week later, however, the party leader met with the president, and the
pks turned its political stand on the issue through 180 degrees. ‘We have
to come to terms with political realities’, said Tifatul Sembiring, referring
to the fact that the majority of the parties in Parliament supported the
plan, and that abstaining from supporting the government policy at such
a decisive moment would risk its cabinet portfolios.⁹²
The decision triggered waves of reactions from pks supporters. kammi,
the pks student organisation, sent its representative to the pks faction
in the Parliament to deliver their protests, and questioned the party’s
commitment to the struggle for the poor. kammi’s branches in some
provinces also voiced similar complaints.⁹³ Some pks regional branches
also voiced their disappointment with the party’s decision to support the
unpopular policy. A few of them even urged their leaders to withdraw
from the coalition government, since the support had resulted in a
deterioration in the pks’s popularity. The damaging impact of the oil
price policy caused great concerns among pks leaders, with some surveys
reporting that only 2.6 per cent of Indonesian voters intended to give
their vote to the pks in the next election – a two thirds decline from the
7.3 per cent it had garnered in elections a year before.⁹⁴
Commenting on this topic, Minister of the Interior Gamawan Fauzi acknowledged
that the costs of a district/mayoral candidacy can be as high as 50 billion rupiah
(us$50 million). http://www.inilah.com/read/detail/490041/begitu-mahalnya-menjadi
-bupati/.
Tempo, 28 March–3 April 2005.
Tempo, 21–27 March 2005.
Interview with Imam Nur Azis, 22 May 2007.