The Labour Party ( id, Partai Buruh) was 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 political ideology ...

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 Guine ...

. It was formed on 25 December 1949 by a group of former

Labour Party of Indonesia The Labour Party of Indonesia ( id, Partai Buruh Indonesia, PBI) was a political party in Indonesia. Indonesian Labour Front The party was founded as a national trade union center, the Indonesian Labour Front (''Barisan Buruh Indonesia'', BBI), ...

(PBI) members, who had disagreed with the merger of PBI into the

Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965. ...

.Rose, Saul. ''Socialism in Southern Asia''. London: Oxford University Press, 1959. p. 153Feith, Herbert.
The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia
'. An Equinox classic Indonesia book. Jakarta .a. Equinox, 2007. pp. 144-145
Ensiklopedi umum
'. Yogyakarta: Yayasan Kanisius, 1977. pp. 435, 790 The party had a degree of influence, as it counted on support from

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and had influence inside the Ministry of Labour. Iskandar Tedjasukmana was the Chairman of the

Political Bureau A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

of the party between 1951 and 1956. Iskandar Tedjasukmana represented the party in government, serving as Minister of Labour in the

Sukiman Soekiman Wirjosandjojo ( EYD: Sukiman Wiryosanjoyo; 19June 1898 – 23July 1974) was an Indonesian politician and physician who served as prime minister of Indonesia from 1951 until 1952. A member of the Masyumi Party, he also served as the pa ...

Wilopo Wilopo ( ; 21 October 1909 – 1 June 1981) was an Indonesian politician and lawyer of the Indonesian National Party (PNI), who served as the seventh prime minister of Indonesia from his appointment in April 1952 until his resignation in June 1 ...

and

Burhanuddin Harahap Burhanuddin Harahap ( EVO: Boerhanoeddin Harahap; 12 February 1917 – 14 June 1987) was an Indonesian politician and lawyer who served as the 9th prime minister of Indonesia from 1955 until 1956. A member of the Masyumi Party, he also se ...

cabinets (1951–1956). The party was officially

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, but in political practice more influenced by

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

. Inside the party leadership, there was a division between those who supported the 'oppositionist' positions of the

Indonesian National Party The Indonesian National Party ( id, Partai Nasional Indonesia, PNI) was the name used by several nationalist political parties in Indonesia from 1927 until the 2000s. The first PNI was established by future President Sukarno. After independence, th ...

and

Murba Party Murba Party ( id, Partai Murba, Partai Musyawarah Rakyat Banyak, Proletarian Party) was a ' national communist' political party in Indonesia. Feith, Herbert. The Wilopo Cabinet, 1952–1953: A Turning Point in Post-Revolutionary Indonesia'. Ithaca ...

, and another sector of intellectuals who were closer to the

Socialist Party of Indonesia The Socialist Party of Indonesia ( id, Partai Sosialis Indonesia) was a political party in Indonesia from 1948 until 1960, when it was banned by President Sukarno. Origins In December 1945 Amir Sjarifoeddin's Socialist Party of Indonesia (Pa ...

.Feith, Herbert.
The Wilopo Cabinet, 1952-1953: A Turning Point in Post-Revolutionary Indonesia
'. Ithaca, N.Y.: Modern Indonesia Project, Southeast Asia Program, Dept. of Far Eastern Studies, Cornell University, 1958. pp. 70-71 When 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), ...

(DPR) was formed in 1950, seven of its 236 members belonged to the Labour Party. As of 1951, the Labour Party claimed to have 60,000 members. In March 1951, the party was one of eleven parties that formed the

Consultative Body of Political Parties The Consultative Body of Political Parties ( id, Badan Permusjawaratan Partai-Partai, BPP) was a loose coalition of political parties in Indonesia. A preparatory meeting, which would lead to the formation of BPP, was held on 27 February 1951. The BP ...

(BPP). In 1952 trade unionists linked to the Labour Party founded the Himpunan Serikat-Serikat Buruh Indonesia trade union centre. The president of HISSBI A.M. Fatah was a Labour Party member.Tedjasukmana, Iskandar.
Watak Politik Gerakan Serikat Buruh Indonesia
' The party obtained 224,167 votes in the 1955 legislative election (0.6% of the national vote), and won two seats in the parliament.Feith, Herbert.
The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia
'. An Equinox classic Indonesia book. Jakarta .a. Equinox, 2007. p. 435 After the election the party joined the Fraction of Upholders of the Proclamation, a heterogenous parliamentary group with ten MPs.Feith, Herbert.
The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia
'. An Equinox classic Indonesia book. Jakarta .a. Equinox, 2007. p. 472

References

{{Former Indonesian political parties 1949 establishments in Indonesia 1956 disestablishments in Indonesia Defunct political parties in Indonesia Defunct socialist parties in Asia Labour parties Political parties disestablished in 1956 Political parties established in 1949 Socialist parties in Indonesia