The Crescent Star Party ( id, Partai Bulan Bintang) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

History

The party's origins go back to the banning of the Islamic

Masyumi Party The Council of Indonesian Muslim Associations ( id, Partai Majelis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia), better known as the Masyumi Party, was a major Islamic political party in Indonesia during the Liberal Democracy Era in Indonesia. It was banned in ...

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

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 Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

law and Islamic teaching in Indonesia. Following the fall of Sukarno and the

transition to the New Order Indonesia's transition to the New Order in the mid-1960s ousted the country's first president, Sukarno, after 22 years in the position. One of the most tumultuous periods in the country's modern history, it was the commencement of Suharto's ...

in which

Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto l ...

came to power, 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 Malang (; ) is a landlocked city in the Indonesian province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of Singhasari Kingdom. It is the second most populous city in the province, with a population of 820,043 at the 2010 Census and ...

, a new party called Parmusi (''Partai Muslimin Indonesia'', Muslim Party of Indonesia) was formed. It came fourth in the 1971 legislative elections. In 1973, the party was forced to merge with other Islamic parties into the

United Development Party The United Development Party ( id, Partai Persatuan Pembangunan, sometimes translated as Development Unity Party; abbreviated PPP) is an Islam-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho. (2013). ''Partai politik Islam: Teori dan praktik di Indonesia''. Yogyakarta: Grah ...

. With the

fall of Suharto Suharto resigned as President of Indonesia on 21 May 1998 following the collapse of support for his 32-year long presidency. Vice President B. J. Habibie took over the presidency. Suharto's grip on power weakened following severe economic and ...

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 name "Crescent Star Party". The party's first leader was

Yusril Ihza Mahendra Yusril Ihza Mahendra (born 5 February 1956) is an Indonesian lawyer, politician and academic, who is currently serving as the leader of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) since 2015. Previously, he served as the leader of the PBB from 1998 until 200 ...

, a lawyer and former speechwriter for President Suharto.

Electoral record

The party stood in the 1999 elections, winning 1.9% of the vote and 13 seats in the

People's Representative Council The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) ...

. 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 Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian engineer and politician who was the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. Less than three months after his inauguration as the seventh vice preside ...

. 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 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

. 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 Malem Sambat Ka'ban (born 5 August 1958), also known as M. S. Ka'Ban, is an ex minister of forestry of Indonesia. Politics Kaban was a member of the People's Representative Council. He was a Crescent Star Party official before he was appoin ...

. 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

.''The Jakarta Post'' 10 May 2009
Democratic Party controls 26% of parliamentary seats

Party platform

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.

Election results

Legislative election results

Presidential election results

''Note: Bold text suggests the party's member''

References

{{Islam in Indonesia 1998 establishments in Indonesia Islamism in Indonesia Political parties established in 1998 Political parties in Indonesia Islamic political parties in Indonesia Social conservative parties