Partai Persatuan Pembangunan
In 1973, the Indonesian New Order government of Suharto merged all existing political parties into two parties—the Partai Demokrasi Indonesia (PDI; Indonesian Democratic Party) and the Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP; United Development Party)—in order to minimize real opposition from popular political agencies such as the Partai Nasional Indonesia (PNI; Indonesian National Party) or the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). The resultant "opposition parties" PDI and PPP served more as an alibi for the supposedly democratic New Order government, which appeared to tolerate a multiparty system, than as forums for true opposition. Through intimidation, violence, and election fraud, Suharto ensured that open support for these parties on the part of the masses remained small. Hence, the hegemony of the government party Golongan Karya (Golkar) was never threatened, and in effect Suharto did sponsor a one-party system.
Whereas the Christian-backed PDI had a nationalist and secular agenda, the PPP had a strong Islamic profile, having incorporated the four Muslim parties Nahdlatul Ulama, Parmusi, Persatuan Tarbiyah Islamiyah (PERTI), and Partai Sarekat Islam. It was, however, weakened by deep internal divides due to the divergent political orientations of its members. Under heavy state pressure, the PPP replaced Islam with the Pancasila (the five principles of the Indonesian state philosophy, consisting of belief in one God, humanity, national unity, democracy, and social justice) as its sole ideological fundament in 1984. In protest, the Nahdlatul Ulama withdrew from the party, while many other members shifted their loyalty to Golkar. Nevertheless, the PPP remained the sole political forum for Muslim interests until the fall of Suharto in May 1998. In the ensuing reformation era, it enhanced its Islamic profile, thereby gaining in influence, and formed the Central Axis (Poros Tengah) alliance with other emerging Muslim parties. As the leader of this Islamic alliance, which unexpectedly proposed Abdurrahman Wahid (b. 1940) as candidate for the presidential election of October 1999, the PPP helped to prevent Megawati Sukarnoputri, the candidate of the Partai Demokrasi Indonesia-Perjuangan, winner of the June general elections, from winning the election.
Further Reading
Cribb, Robert, and Colin Brown. (1995) Modern Indonesia: A History since 1945. New York: Longman Publishing.
Emmerson, Donald K., ed. (1999) Indonesia Beyond Suharto: Polity, Economy, Society, Transition. London: East Gate
Forrester, Geoff. (1999) Post-Suharto Indonesia: Renewal or Chaos? Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies; Leiden, Netherlands: KITLV (Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology).
Pompe, Sebastiaan. (1999) De Indonesische Algemene Verkiezingen 1999. Leiden, Netherlands: KITLV (Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology) Uitgeverij.
Ramage, Douglas E. (1997) Politics in Indonesia. Democracy, Islam, and the Ideology of Tolerance. London and New York: Routledge.
Vatikiotis, Michael R. J. (1993) Indonesian Politics under Suharto. London and New York: Routledge.
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