Jakarta – The tentative steps taken by the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) toward forging links with the US at its national congress, which will run from June 16 to 20, could help counter its current exclusive image and broaden its political base, a political expert said Wednesday.
Arbi Sanit, of the University of Indonesia, explained the party was currently struggling with its image as a conservative religious party among an increasingly globally aware populace, who are suspicious of such exclusiveness.
According to him, the party needs to become more inclusive to expand its political base.
As part of its national congress, to be held at Ritz-Carlton Hotel in South Jakarta, the party plans to hold an international seminar on "The US' View of Islam" on Saturday. The seminar will feature talks about perceptions of Islam by US Ambassador Cameron Hume and German Ambassador Norbert Baas.
"The PKS might want to show that it can be a pragmatic political party, not a fanatic one as many people perceive it as being," he told The Jakarta Post.
He also pointed out the possibility that the party's traditional supporters, urban Muslims, might leave the party if it became more inclusive or made closer ties with the US.
The party is well known for its critical stance toward US foreign policy, especially its support of Israel in relation to Palestine.
The chairman of the party, Mahfudz Siddiq, said that forging links with the US was very important for the party since the bilateral relations between Indonesia and the US were very strategic and benefited both countries.
"The dialogue between the West and Islam is vital to a building mutual understanding and eliminating confusion," he told the Post.
He said Indonesians, and Muslims in particular, needed to develop diplomatic solutions with Western countries to address Palestine and other issues in the Islamic world. Saying he believed the only way to do that was through dialogue.
PKS secretary-general Anis Matta said the party aimed to finish among the top three parties in the 2014 election. Therefore, he said, the party was attempting to broaden its political base not only among Muslims, but among non-Muslims also.
"Our motto is 'PKS for all'," he said during the Advisory Council meeting in the party's National congress on Wednesday.
Anis said the party aimed to recruit 1.2 million new members over the next five years. "Currently, we have about 800,000 members and we hope the number will reach as high as 2 million," he told reporters.
One of the party leaders, Agus Purnomo, said that at its national congress, the party would discuss many national issues including the heatedly debated plan to increase the electoral threshold from 2.5 percent to 5 percent.
"In this issue, our position is moderate. We want to keep the threshold at 2.5 percent but to apply it at the provincial and regional levels, as well as national," he said.
The congress committee has also scheduled a "Letter to Obama Competition" in which the children of participants who attend the congress can write a letter to US President Barack Obama. (rdf)