Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) says that it aims to build a more business-friendly, open and pluralist image under a new leadership in the future in order to gain political acceptance.
The party has just named Lutfi Hasan Ishaq, one of PKS' executives, as the party's interim president, replacing Tifatul Sembiring.
"It is important for us to build a more business-friendly and pluralist image in order to be successful in the 2014 general elections," PKS deputy secretary-general Zulkieflimansyah told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta on Sunday. "The PKS never sees other parties as rivals. Our biggest enemy is ourselves," he said.
Zulkieflimansyah said that the public generally considered the PKS as an Islamic-based party, not open to pluralism, and turning women into second-class citizens.
"Therefore, we need to change that as soon as possible so that in the future, we can earn the support of young professionals and people from other backgrounds. If we fail to change our image, then it is going to be hard to win more than 10 percent of the votes in the elections," he said.
Zulkieflimansyah said that he thought Lutfi was the perfect figure to help change the party's image. "Pak Lutfi is a senior figure, and I have no doubt he can do the job to consolidate our party from top to bottom. However, other than his seniority, he is a progressive figure, who is open to all elements," he said.
"He (Lutfi) is also a very calm man, who has a vast experience as a legislator, ranging from becoming a member of the defense and foreign affairs commission (Commission I) at the House of Representatives to leading the House Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP)," he added.
Separately, a political expert from Surabaya's Airlangga University, Airlangga Pribadi, agreed with Zulkieflimansyah's remarks about the need for the party to change its public image for the sake of success in the 2014 elections.
"The PKS move to join in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's bloc can be considered as one of the party's preliminary moves to build a much more open image," he said.
Lutfi was appointed the PKS interim president, replacing Tifatul during the party's Syuro Board meeting at the party's headquarters in Jakarta on Friday night. He is one of the founders of the party, which was originally named the Justice Party.
This is the second time will Lutfi replace Tifatu. Previously, Lutfi replaced Tifatul as chairman of House Commission I following the latter's appointment as the newly installed communication and information minister.
With his appointment as the PKS interim president, Lutfi will also be replaced as chairman of the House Commission I, because the party's internal regulations stipulate that a member cannot hold two administrative positions at once.
"He (Lutfi) will be replaced by Kemal Azis Stamboel," PKS Secretary General Anis Matta said as quoted by Antara in Jakarta on Sunday.
Other than Tifatul, three PKS' executives were also named ministers by Yudhoyono and they are Suharna Surapranata as the research and technology minister, Salim Segaf Al Jufri as the social affairs minister, and Suswono as the agriculture minister.
Suharna was replaced by Untung Wahono as the chairman of the PKS central board assembly, while Suswono was replaced by Budiyanto as the deputy secretary-general on organizational affairs.
Salim was not replaced by anyone, because he holds no position at the party's main leadership structure. (hdt)