•  
  •  
 

Abstract

This article examines the opposition strategy of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in Indonesia’s multiparty presidential system during President Joko Widodo’s administration. Departing from the weakening of opposition caused by the expansion of the governing coalition and the tendency toward party cartelization, this article addresses the question of why PKS chose to maintain its opposition stance while most political parties joined the government. This study employs a qualitative approach with a theory-refining case study design. Data were collected through interviews with PKS elites and political observers, official party documents, parliamentary records, electoral data, media reports, and academic literature. The analysis focuses on PKS’s position toward three strategic policies: the Sexual Violence Crime Law, the Job Creation Law, and the State Capital Law. The findings show that PKS’s opposition was selective and issue-based: moral-ideological in the Sexual Violence Crime Law, political-economic in the Job Creation Law, and governance-fiscal in the State Capital Law. This article argues that PKS’s opposition should not be understood as a failure of office-seeking, but as a strategic mechanism to sustain policy-seeking and vote-seeking in a cartelized multiparty presidential context.

References

Ady Thea DA. 2023. Anggota Fraksi PKS Soroti UU Cipta Kerja Berpihak Pada Pengusaha, Hingga Kesejahteraan Buruh. May 2. https://www.hukumonline.com/berita/a/anggota-fraksi-pks-soroti-uu-cipta-kerja-berpihak-pada-pengusaha--hingga-kesejahteraan-buruh-lt645095585eca1/.

Akuntono, Indra. 2015. Presiden PKS Temui Jokowi Di Istana Merdeka. December 21. https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2015/12/21/16585081/Presiden.PKS.Temui.Jokowi.di.Istana.Merdeka.

Ambardi, Kuskridho. 2009. Mengungkap Politik Kartel. Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia.

Aristama, Faisal. 2022. Kecuali PKS, Seluruh Fraksi Setuju RUU TPKS Disahkan Jadi Inisiatif DPR. January 18. https://rmol.id/politik/read/2022/01/18/519876/kecuali-pks-seluruh-fraksi-setuju-ruu-tpks-disahkan-jadi-inisiatif-dpr.

Aspinall, Edward, and Ward Berenschot. 2019. Democracy for Sale: Elections, Clientelism, and the State in Indonesia. Cornell University Press. https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501732997.

Blondel, Jean. 1997. “Political Opposition in the Contemporary World.” Government and Opposition 32 (4): 462–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-7053.1997.tb00441.x.

BPS RI. 2025. Hasil Penghitungan Suara Sah Partai Politik Peserta Pemilu Legislatif Tahun 1955-2024. February 7. https://www.bps.go.id/id/statistics-table/1/MTU3MyMx/hasil-penghitungan-suara-sah-partai-politik-peserta-pemilu-legislatif-tahun-1955-2019.html.

Budge, Ian, and M. J. Laver. 1992. “Coalition Theory, Government Policy and Party Policy.” In Party Policy and Government Coalitions, edited by M. J. Laver and Ian Budge. Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22368-8_1.

Chaisty, Paul, and Svitlana Chernykh. 2017. “How Do Minority Presidents Manage Multiparty Coalitions? Identifying and Analyzing the Payoffs to Coalition Parties in Presidential Systems.” Political Research Quarterly 70 (4): 762–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912917715912.

Chaisty, Paul, and Timothy J. Power. 2025. “Coalition Management and Governance Outcomes in Multiparty Presidential Regimes.” Political Studies, September 13, 00323217251371949. https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217251371949.

CNN Indonesia. 2022. Hasto Tegaskan Lagi PDIP Tak Bisa Koalisi Dengan Demokrat-PKS. June 25. https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20220625163111-32-813492/hasto-tegaskan-lagi-pdip-tak-bisa-koalisi-dengan-demokrat-pks.

Collier, David. 2011. “Understanding Process Tracing.” PS: Political Science & Politics 44 (4): 823–30. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096511001429.

Dahl, Robert. 1971. Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. Yale University Press.

Denzin, Norman K., and Yvonna S. Lincoln. 2017. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. SAGE Publications.

Fraksi PKS. 2022a. Pendapat Fraksi Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (FPKS) Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia (DPR RI) Terhadap Rancangan Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Tentang Tindak Pidana Kekerasan Seksual (RUU TPKS). Fraksi PKS DPR RI. https://fraksi.pks.id/2022/04/06/pendapat-fpks-dpr-ri-terhadap-ruu-tentang-tindak-pidana-kekerasan-seksual/.

Fraksi PKS. 2022b. Pendapat Fraksi Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (FPKS) Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia (DPR RI) Terhadap Rancangan Undang-Undang Tentang Ibu Kota Negara (RUU IKN). Fraksi PKS DPR RI. https://pks.id/content/pendapat-fraksi-partai-keadilan-sejahtera-terhadap-rancangan-undang-undang-ibu-kota-negara.

Fraksi PKS. 2023. Pendapat Fraksi Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (FPKS) Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia (DPR RI) Terhadap Rancangan Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Tentang Penetapan Peraturan Pemerintah Pengganti Undang-Undang (Perpu) No. 2 Tahun 2022 Tentang Cipta Kerja Menjadi Undang-Undang. Fraksi PKS DPR RI.

Gamboa, Laura. 2022. Resisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies against the Erosion of Democracy. 1st ed. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009164085.

George, Alexander S., and Andrew Bennett. 2005. Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. The MIT Press.

Gerring, John. 2006. Case Study Research: Principles and Practices. Cambridge University Press.

Hamayotsu, Kikue. 2011. “The Political Rise of the Prosperous Justice Party in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia.” Asian Survey 51 (5): 971–92. https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2011.51.5.971.

Haris, Muh, Yuwanto Yuwanto, Teguh Yuwono, and Nur Hidayat Sardini. 2020. “The Dynamics and Existence of Islamic Party in 2019 General Election: Case Study of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).” Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies 10 (2): 409–28. https://doi.org/10.18326/ijims.v10i2.409-428.

Katz, Richard S., and Peter Mair. 1995. “Changing Models of Party Organization and Party Democracy: The Emergence of the Cartel Party.” Party Politics 1 (1): 5–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068895001001001.

Katz, Richard S., and Peter Mair. 2009. “The Cartel Party Thesis: A Restatement.” Perspectives on Politics 7 (4): 753–66. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592709991782.

Katz, Richard S., and Peter Mair. 2018. Democracy and the Cartelization of Political Parties. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199586011.001.0001.

Kiplagat, Mercy Chebet, Kiprono Chebii, and Cherop Kemboi. 2025. “Coalition Governments and the Erosion of Opposition Strength: An Analytical Perspective.” Alupe University Multidisciplinary Research Journal 1 (1): 49–59. https://doi.org/10.65466/7t7gap21.

Kirshner, Alexander S. 2022. Legitimate Opposition. Yale University Press. https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300268744.

Lijphart, Arend. 2012. Patterns of Democracy. Yale University Press.

Mainwaring, Scott. 1993. “Presidentialism, Multipartism, and Democracy: The Difficult Combination.” Comparative Political Studies 26 (2): 198–228. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414093026002003.

Mietzner, Marcus. 2013. Money, Power, and Ideology: Political Parties in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia. University of Hawaii Press.

Mietzner, Marcus. 2016. “Coercing Loyalty: Coalitional Presidentialism and Party Politics in Jokowi’s Indonesia.” Contemporary Southeast Asia 38 (2): 209–32. https://doi.org/10.1355/cs38-2b.

Mietzner, Marcus. 2017. “Indonesia in 2016: Jokowi’s Presidency between Elite Consolidation and Extra-Parliamentary Opposition.” Asian Survey 57 (1): 165–72. https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2017.57.1.165.

Mietzner, Marcus. 2021. Democratic Deconsolidation in Southeast Asia. 1st ed. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108677080.

Müller, Wolfgang C., and Kaare Strøm, eds. 1999. Policy, Office, or Votes?: How Political Parties in Western Europe Make Hard Decisions. 1st ed. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511625695.

Neto, Octavio Amorim. 2006. “The Presidential Calculus: Executive Policy Making and Cabinet Formation in the Americas.” Comparative Political Studies 39 (4): 415–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414005282381.

Patton, Michael Q. 2015. Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice. SAGE Publications.

Perdana, Aditya, Muhammad Imam, and Syafril Effendi. 2024. “The Coalitional Presidentialism and Presidential Toolbox in the Philippines and Indonesia.” JAS (Journal of ASEAN Studies) 12 (2): 461–81. https://doi.org/10.21512/jas.v12i2.11449.

Phillips, Margaret, and Jing Lu. 2018. “A Quick Look at NVivo.” Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship 30 (2): 104–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/1941126X.2018.1465535.

Sartori, Giovanni. 1966. “Opposition and Control Problems and Prospects.” Government and Opposition 1 (2): 149–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-7053.1966.tb00368.x.

Sartori, Giovanni. 1977. Parties and Party Systems: A Framework for Analysis. Cambridge University Press.

SINDONews. 2021. PKS Minta Pemerintah Setop Wacana Pemindahan Ibu Kota Negara. January 19. https://nasional.sindonews.com/read/401746/12/pks-minta-pemerintah-setop-wacana-pemindahan-ibu-kota-negara-1618819456.

Slater, Dan. 2004. “Indonesia’s Accountability Trap: Party Cartels and Presidential Power after Democratic Transition.” Indonesia, no. 78: 61–92.

Slater, Dan. 2018. “Party Cartelization, Indonesian-Style: Presidential Power-Sharing and the Contingency of Democratic Opposition.” Journal of East Asian Studies 18 (1): 23–46. https://doi.org/10.1017/jea.2017.26.

Strøm, Kaare. 1990. “A Behavioral Theory of Competitive Political Parties.” American Journal of Political Science 34 (2): 565. https://doi.org/10.2307/2111461.

Tomsa, Dirk. 2012. “Moderating Islamism in Indonesia: Tracing Patterns of Party Change in the Prosperous Justice Party.” Political Research Quarterly 65 (3): 486–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912911404566.

Tuttnauer, Or, and Simone Wegmann. 2022. “Voting for Votes: Opposition Parties’ Legislative Activity and Electoral Outcomes.” American Political Science Review 116 (4): 1357–74. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055422000338.

Undang-Undang Nomor 12 Tahun 2022 tentang Tindak Pidana Kekerasan Seksual (2022). https://jdih.setneg.go.id/detailperaturan?jns=UU&no=12&thn=2022.

Van Well, Rick L. 2025. “To Oppose or Not to Oppose? Strategies of Opposition Parties’ Parliamentary Support for Government Legislation.” Government and Opposition 60 (4): 895–917. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2025.8.

Yin, Robert K. 2018. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th Ed.). SAGE Publications.

Download

Share

COinS