Yogya (KU)- Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and Hizbut Tahrir of Indonesia (HTI) are seen as having failed to become a counter-hegemony movement because both of them have already become part of the national hegemony structure. “They no longer serve as a national counter-hegemony movement that gives education and raises awareness among the lower class people, they have even been trapped in national projects or projects of international donors,†said analyst of Policy and Politics iNUSANTARA, Irwan Omar in doctoral exam in Seminar Room, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Saturday (1/5).
He explained his dissertation entitled HTI and PKS as Counter-Hegemony Movement with promoter Prof. Dr. Amien Rais and co-promoters Prof. Dr. Mochtar Mas’oed and Prof. Dr. Ichlasul Amal. The man born in Singapore, 17 October 1972 explained that between 1998-2004, PKS and HTI showed their capacity in this field. Both were brave to offer various ideas different from the mainstream. After 2004, however, according to Irwan, PKS and HTI have changed and became social movement. “HTI and PKS could be categorized as counter-hegemony organizations between 1998-2004. After 2004, they became social movement,†said the man who earned Master Dip. in Urban Planning from National University of Singapore in 2001.
Irwan explained that PKS is one of Islamic political parties as impact of Indonesian post-reform democratization. Different from PKS that is active in politics, HTI chose to separate itself from politics and isolates itself from all political activities.
According to Irwan, HTI is also similar to PKS. There are various similar ideology, regeneration, and movement between them. “Although HTI is more dominant as transnational actor, its existence can serve as motivator for PKS in developing its mission,†he said.
Irwan said that as an Islamic party, PKS at least could gain significant votes in the election, because most of Indonesian people are Muslim. But the fact is the contrary. The election in 2009 showed that the votes for Islamic parties decreased to 29.16% from those in previous elections (32.50% in 2004 and 37.4% in 1999). “It means that Islamic parties have failed to become a populist social movement or counter-hegemony organization for national policy,†said Irwan who earned cum laude distinction.
He added that the failure of PKS in increasing its votes was caused by the more complex national politics development. Besides, its coalition with Democrat Party has caused its bargaining position go down even deeper. In addition, PKS and HTI’s political touch and da’wa are only in urban areas, reaching only the educated people. Many are left untouched, for example the uneducated people, who are the staunch supporters of Golkar and PDIP parties.