Adi Sasono blames unrest on disparity<\/p>\n
By Yenni Kwok<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A topic that Adi Sasono, the secretary-general
\nof the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI),
\nalways talks about passionately is the economic disparity between
\nthe ethnic Chinese and the have-nots, many of whom are Moslems,
\nand how this can lead to hostility.<\/p>\n
But he hardly suspects that violence between the two groups
\nwould erupt in his hometown, Pekalongan.<\/p>\n
Last Wednesday, a riot rocked the coastal town some 300
\nkilometers east of here. After supporters of the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) protested the political bias of local
\nauthorities, some people took their frustration out on the local
\nChinese.<\/p>\n
\"I was surprised,\" said Adi, who was attending a conference in
\nKuala Lumpur during the riot. To him, Pekalongan was not a place
\nof racial tension.<\/p>\n
\"I know of a cooperative, called Koperasi Jasa Pembangunan,
\nthat was founded by a Moslem, and the managing director is
\nChinese,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He speculated that the riot could have been triggered by
\npolitical discontent, but tension was ripe because of economic
\ndisparity.<\/p>\n
\"The real problem is economic disparity, but the Chinese are
\nalways the black sheep,\" said the 54-year-old executive-turned
\nactivist. There was another riot in the town in November 1995. It
\nwas caused by religious issues.<\/p>\n
He called for immediate affirmative action, with the
\ngovernment helping indigenous people's businesses compete with
\nChinese businesses.<\/p>\n
\"The government should not only help Prayogo (Pangestu), Eka
\n(Widjaja) or Liem (Sioei Liong),\" he said, referring to
\nIndonesia's top tycoons. \"They could not have become as big as
\nthey have if the government had not helped them.\"<\/p>\n
Many Moslem leaders, however, do not agree with Adi.
\nAbdurrahman Wahid, the leader of the 30-million strong Nahdlatul
\nUlama, once accused Adi of trying to replace Chinese economic
\npower with Islamic economic power.<\/p>\n
\"We should not take over the (power of) Chinese tycoons, we
\nshould ask them to be our partners,\" said the Moslem scholar who
\nis better known as Gus Dur.<\/p>\n
Adi denies planning to replace Chinese economic power. He said
\nthe top players should stay in the game, but small players had to
\nhave room to grow.<\/p>\n
He argues that affirmative action will not only help the
\npribumi (indigenous Indonesians), but also protect the
\nChinese.<\/p>\n
\"The Pekalongan stores that were burned down belonged to
\npeople who had worked hard,\" he said. \"Our Chinese brothers are
\nin a dangerous position.\"<\/p>\n
Adi takes pride in his father's efforts to integrate the
\nChinese into the pribumi community in Pekalongan. But he hasn't
\nalways followed in his father's footsteps.<\/p>\n
In 1963, while still a student at Bandung's Institute of
\nTechnology, he was involved in an anti-Chinese movement on campus
\nthat later spread to other cities.<\/p>\n
He said that he was immature then: \"Now, I have many Chinese
\nfriends: Mari Pangestu, Jusuf Wanandi.\"<\/p>\n
And, if anyone thinks he is a fundamentalist Moslem who wants
\nto form an Islamic state, he usually laughs at them.<\/p>\n
\"How can I be a fundamentalist Moslem? My in-laws are
\nCatholics. I went to school in the West and used to live in a
\ndiverse society. How can I be more radical than, say, somebody
\nwho was educated in the Middle East?\" said Adi, who graduated
\nfrom Phillips Las Centrum in the Netherlands with a degree in
\nengineering.<\/p>\n
Diversity<\/p>\n
As the secretary-general of ICMI since 1993, he commands the
\nbest brains of this country's 175 million Moslems. But this does
\nnot mean he controls their minds.<\/p>\n
The most recent headlines have been about two prominent ICMI
\nmembers: Sri Bintang Pamungkas is facing subversion charges, and
\nAmien Rais has stepped down from the prestigious Council of
\nExperts because of \"pressure from the power structure\".<\/p>\n
Far from being upset, Adi looks rather proud.<\/p>\n
\"That shows the diversity of ICMI,\" said Adi, also the
\ndirector of the Center for Information and Development Studies,
\nan ICMI think tank. \"We have bureaucrats, generals, scholars and
\neven Sri Bintang, Southeast Asia's biggest opposition figure.\"<\/p>\n
Because ICMI is chaired by State Minister of Research and
\nTechnology B.J. Habibie and has President Soeharto as its chief
\npatron, many see it as a government-backed organization, mostly
\njoined by bureaucrats and wannabes.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Adi insists that ICMI is independent, citing that
\nICMI did not condemn the unrecognized Democratic People's Party
\nover last year's unrest when many other organizations did so.<\/p>\n
ICMI has called for fair trials for the Party's young
\nactivists.<\/p>\n
\"Adi Sasono is a political animal,\" Abdurrahman once said,
\nlinking Adi to the recent riots in Tasikmalaya, West Java, and
\nSitubondo in East Java. \"He is constructing political power
\nthrough socioeconomic functions.\"<\/p>\n
Arief Budiman, who was a colleague of Adi's at the Development
\nStudies Body non-governmental organization, said: \"Adi Sasono
\nclearly has ambitions.<\/p>\n
\"He had once been close with high-ranking officials such as
\nAli Sadikin and Bustanil Arifin. The most success he has achieved
\nwas when he became close to Habibie. He achieved a highly
\ninfluential position,\" Arief said.<\/p>\n
Adi laughed. \"I don't have any political ambitions,\" he said.
\n\"If I had political ambitions, I wouldn't have done anything to
\nprovoke those in power.\"<\/p>\n
Adi has helped found controversial movements over the years.<\/p>\n
In the 1970s, when anticommunist sentiment was strong, poet
\nW.S. Rendra, Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin, Abdurrahman's mother
\nand Adi founded the Humaika Foundation to help former Indonesian
\nCommunist Party (PKI) political prisoners readjust to society.<\/p>\n
\"Only a mad man would stand up for an ex-PKI member,\" said
\nAdi, whose position as general manager of PT Krama Yudha-Phillips
\nhas given him access to seek donations from businesspeople for
\nhis activities.<\/p>\n
He quit Krama Yudha in 1978 to join Ali Sadikin's non-
\ngovernmental organization (NGO), called the Development Studies
\nInstitute (LSP).<\/p>\n
\"Working in the private sector, I felt like a stranger in
\nparadise. I was a student activist, and there I found myself
\nfeeling so detached from the people,\" he said on why he quit his
\nhighly-paid job.<\/p>\n
Under his leadership, the LSP won an Aga Khan award for urban
\nplanning in Samarinda. Adi has also actively supported the
\ninformal sector, such as promoting a cooperative for street
\nvendors in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
He joined ICMI when it was established in 1990. He became its
\nsecretary-general from 1995 to 2000. Many people were not happy
\nwith having an ex-NGO activist as their secretary-general, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Amien Rais, however, has his own opinion on Adi: \"He has an
\nexperienced perspective and emotions... He is right for the
\nsecretary-general position because he is an honest person.\"<\/p>\n
How about being recognized as a Habibie's protegee?<\/p>\n
\"The agenda of ICMI is human rights' promotion. I've been
\nworking for human rights for years, and Habibie's specialty is in
\ntechnology. Let me ask you, whom would you ask about human
\nrights? I am who I am, and Habibie is Habibie,\" said Adi.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/adi-sasono-blames-unrest-on-disparity-1447893297",
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