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Beyond Office-Seeking: PKS Opposition Strategy in Indonesia’s Multiparty Presidentialism

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.

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Risalah Rapat DPR RI:

Fraksi PKS (2022a). Pendapat Fraksi Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (FPKS) Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia (DPR RI) Terhadap Rancangan Undang-Undang Tentang Ibu Kota Negara (RUU IKN), di DPR RI, tanggal 18 Januari 2022, dibacakan oleh Suryadi Jaya Purnama, ST.

Fraksi PKS (2022b). 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), di DPR RI, Jakarta, 6 April 2022, dibacakan oleh Dr. Almuzzammil Yusuf Fraksi PKS DPR RI.

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, di DPR RI, tanggal 15 Februari 2023, dibacakan oleh Amin, Ak., MM.

Wawancara:

Wawancara dengan Ahmad Syaikhu, Presiden PKS masa bakti 2021-2025, di Kantor DPP PKS, Jakarta, pada Selasa, tanggal 8 April 2025.

Wawancara dengan Al Muzzammil Yusuf, Presiden PKS masa bakti 2025-2029, di Kantor DPP PKS, Jakarta, pada hari Sabtu, tanggal 8 Juni 2025. 

Wawancara dengan M. Sohibul Iman, Presiden PKS masa bakti 2015-2020, di Kantor DPP PKS, Jakarta, pada hari Sabtu, tanggal 8 Juni 2025.

Wawancara dengan Burhanudin Muhtadi, Peneliti Lembaga Survei Indikator, pada tanggal 19 Desember 2025, melalui daring (Zoom).

Wawancara dengan Firman Noor, Peneliti BRIN, pada tanggal 16 April 2026, di Jakarta.

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