Anita Rachman – As allegations of unapproved polygamous marriages were leveled against three members of the Prosperous Justice Party on Tuesday, one embattled legislator from the Islam-based party claimed there was a concerted effort underway to undermine the party.
Anis Matta, secretary general of the party known as the PKS, said the campaign was apparent in the recent allegations of corruption and personal misconduct leveled against himself and other party members.
Although he declined to identify the groups he claimed were behind the allegations, Anis said it was likely they would keep up their attacks against the PKS.
"I think this is a political operation [against] the PKS," Anis said. "This is an attempt to undermine the PKS. There have been a series [of attacks] and they have not yet ended. Let's just wait."
He said the initial blow came earlier this month, when a sex video was uploaded onto Twitter and claimed to feature Anis. This was followed by allegations of wrongdoing by PKS officials in the meat import program.
The latest criticism against party officials has come from Yusuf Supendi, a PKS co-founder who was fired last November.
On Monday, Yusuf reported Anis to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for allegedly embezzling Rp 10 billion ($1.2 million) from the party's campaign chest for the 2007 gubernatorial election in Jakarta.
Yusuf had last week reported Anis and party chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq to the House of Representatives' Ethics Council for allegedly embezzling campaign funds during the 1999 and 2009 elections.
On Tuesday, Yusuf continued his war of words against the top PKS officials when he told the Jakarta Globe that three were in polygamous marriages not approved by the party's Shariah Council. He identified them as Luthfi, Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring and party deputy secretary general Mahfudz Siddiq.
Mahfudz said all the recent allegations had come in the wake of the party's failed motion to launch a House inquiry into corruption at the tax office. The motion was opposed by the ruling Democratic Party, whose officials have since called for the PKS to be removed from the coalition for not toeing the government line.
Mahfudz said he had heard there were to be two more scandals linked to the party. "We'll let it all happen and see how it ends," he said. "Once the dust has settled, we'll make our move."
He also said the PKS knew who was trying to undermine it, but declined to name names. However, Yusuf denied there was a grand conspiracy to take down the PKS, saying he was acting on his own.
"I am ruled by no one. All the [alleged cases] are ruled by God," he said. "Don't link my closeness to other political parties to my current moves. That has nothing to do with it. Stick to the substance of my reports, for which I have all the evidence."
Hanta Yuda, a political analyst at the Indonesian Institute, said it was not impossible that the PKS was being deliberately targeted, adding the party now needed to focus on tackling the accusations. This meant addressing each allegation head-on instead of complaining about a political conspiracy to destabilize the party, he said.
He warned that failure to do so could prove costly in the 2014 elections. "The allegations relate to corruption and polygamy," Hanta said. "The PKS tag line is anticorruption, while polygamy is a pretty sensitive issue for voters," he added.