Crescent Star Party (Indonesia): Difference between revisions

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Crescent Star Party" Indonesia – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Crescent Star Party (Indonesian: Partai Bulan Bintang) is a political party in Indonesia.

The party's origins go back to the banning of the Masyumi Party by President Sukarno in 1960. After the ban, supporters and followers of the party established the Crescent Star Family (Keluarga Bulan Bintang) to continue to press for the implementation of Sharia law and Islamic teaching in Indonesia. Following the fall of Sukarno and the transition to the New Order, members of the organization wanted to revive the Masyumi Party, but this was not allowed by the new regime. In the 1970s, in a meeting in Malang, a new party called Parmusi (Partai Muslimin Indonesia, Muslim Party of Indonesia) was formed. It came fourth in the 1971 elections. In 1973, the party was forced to merge with other Islamic parties into the United Development Party. With the fall of Suharto in 1998, supporters of Masyumi decided to establish a new party. The original plan was to use Masyumi name again, but after consideration, they settled on the Crescent Star Party. The party's first leader was Yusril Ihza Mahendra, a lawyer and speechwriter to President Suharto.^[2]

The party stood in the 1999 elections, winning 1.9% of the vote and 13 seats in the People's Representative Council. Yusril was appointed justice and law minister. In mid-2000 internal conflict broke out in the party over Yusril's acceptance of financial assistance from former president Jusuf Habibie. It ended with party member Hartono Mardjono establishing a rival Crescent Star Party. After losing a court case, Hartono then established he Indonesian Islamic Party (Partai Islam Indonesia), but this failed to qualify for the 2004 elections. In these elections, the Crescent Star Party won 2.6% of the popular vote and 11 seats. Yusril was later replaced by Malem Sambat Kaban.^[3][4] In the 2009 legislative election, the party won 1.8 percent of the votes, less than the 2.5 percent electoral threshold, meaning it lost all its seats in the People's Representative Council.^[5][6]

The party wants to realize an Islamic way of life. Its mission is to build a society and nation that is developed, highly independent in nature, intelligent, just, democratic and that will play a role in bringing about world peace based on the values of Islam.^[1]