Jakarta declares emergency as water levels rise

Five dead and thousands evacuated amid capital's worst flooding in five years

 Indonesia has declared a state of emergency in waterlogged Jakarta after days of rain forced thousands to be evacuated, left five dead and affected nearly 100,000 others in the capital city's worst flooding since 2007.

Weather officials yesterday warned that the worst was not over, with more heavy rain expected in the next few days. Army special forces and firemen have been deployed to rescue the stranded.

Overnight torrential rains caused flash floods yesterday, forcing many people to abandon their homes and rescuers in lorries or dinghies to go to the aid of people stranded in offices or by the road.

Indonesia’s National Elections: Islamic Parties At The Crossroads

Indonesian Islamic parties have been adopting an inclusive and pragmatic strategy for garnering votes. The formal establishment of Shariah law is no longer a primary objective in their agenda. Nevertheless, these parties still have to settle several issues.

WITH INDONESIA’S national legislative elections approaching in 2014, Islamic parties have signalled a pragmatic shift to the centre to garner popular support by transforming themselves into inclusivist parties. Their party platforms no longer feature the establishment of Shariah law and other Islamic agendas, while turning to more pluralistic political reforms and adopting democracy as their main strategy for winning the political contest.

Still For Shariah Law?

Nevertheless the struggle for the installation of Shariah has not been abandoned, but only relegated to the back burner. The shift in their objective from an Islamist to a pluralist agenda may reflect the declining popularity of Islamic parties in Indonesia.

The popular votes for Islamic parties have declined significantly from their peak in 1999. The United Development Party (PPP) gained about 11% of the seats in 1999 but only got 8% in 2004 and 5% in 2009. Meanwhile the National Awakening Party (PKB) earned around 13% in 1999, but only got 11% in 2004 and less than 5% in 2009. Similarly the National Mandate Party (PAN) which secured about 7% in 1999, declined to 6.4% in 2004 and 6% in 2009. On the other hand the more progressive Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) performed slightly better than its counterparts. As PKS only ran in the election from 2004, the party won about 7.3% in 2004 and 7.8% in 2009.