SERVING THE POOR WHILE SECURING THE VOTE ISLAMIC PARTIES AND WELFARE PROGRAM IN DECENTRALIZED INDONESIA

Abstract

Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country with complex and diverse social and economic welfare problems. These welfare issues sometimes become sensitive electoral issues used to mobilize electoral support in elections. One of the welfare problems experienced by its citizens is the issue of inhospitable housing (Rumah Tidak Layak Huni / RTLH). This article seeks to explain how RTLH has become an electoral issue through the conceptual framework of political linkage. It begins with the question of how Islamic parties contribute to overseeing welfare programs in general and, more specifically, the handling of RTLH at the local level. In contrast to much of the existing scholarship that frames contemporary Indonesian politics primarily in terms of patronage and clientelism, this article starts from the perspective that Islamic parties face various opportunities and constraints in responding to and overseeing welfare policy agendas. By focusing on two Islamic parties—PKB and PKS—in Banyumas Regency, and by adopting the process-tracing analytical method commonly used in comparative politics studies, this article shows that Islamic parties adopt different approaches in supporting the RTLH program at the local level. On the one hand, PKB does not treat the RTLH program as a priority because the policy is considered to offer limited electoral incentives. On the other hand, PKS is more serious in supporting the RTLH program for more ideological reasons. Moreover, PKS maintains a programmatic and strategic political linkage, whereas PKB tends to maintain a pragmatic and tactical political linkage.