Amien Rais re-elected as Muhammadiyah chief<\/p>\n
By Santi WE Sukanto and Wisnu Pramudya<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The new central executive board of
\nMuhammadiyah re-elected intellectual Amien Rais yesterday as
\nchairman of the reformist Moslem organization.<\/p>\n
It took the 13 board members only three minutes to reach the
\ndecision, and even that struck some members as too long.<\/p>\n
\"Especially because the opening of the meeting itself took
\nanother two and a half minutes,\" Rosjad Sholeh, one of the board
\nmembers, announced to great applause from participants in
\nMuhammadiyah's 43rd congress.<\/p>\n
In the final plenary session, the congress announced the re-
\nelection of Amien, who first took assumed the chairmanship
\nfollowing the death of K.H. Ahmad Azhar Basyir last year. It also
\nissued a number of recommendations on various social, economic
\nand political issues.<\/p>\n
\"Muhammadiyah supports the government's policy of not
\nestablishing diplomatic ties with Israel,\" one recommendation
\ndeclared.<\/p>\n
Another called on Moslem countries to solve problems among
\nthemselves, \"in the spirit of brotherhood\", to prevent outside
\ninterference.<\/p>\n
But it was the re-election of Amien Rais that mattered most to
\nmost congress participants and political observers on the last
\nday of the congress.<\/p>\n
\"The board members unanimously agreed to recommend to the
\ncongress that we elect candidate Amien Rais to be chairman of the
\nMuhammadiyah central executive board for the 1995-2000 term,\"
\nRosjad Sholeh announced.<\/p>\n
\"All those in favor? In favor?\" Rosjad asked the around 1,000
\npeople in the assembly, to which the cheering majority answered
\nthat they were. Rosjad brought down a gavel, and Amien was
\nformally elected.<\/p>\n
Amien is expected to call a meeting of the new board soon to
\nelect a secretary and a vice chairman and to decide whether more
\npersonnel will be needed to help manage the organization, which
\nhas 28 million supporters across the country.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/p>\n
At the conclusion of the plenary session, the congress had
\nachieved its target of electing a new executive board and
\npreparing a set of programs for the coming five years. The
\ncongresses of Aisyiyah and Nasyiatul Aisyiyah, the Muhammadiyah's
\nwomen's wings, concluded, having elected, respectively, Elyda
\nDjazman and Diah Siti Nuraini as their presidents.<\/p>\n
\"This is such a great task...If I ever make any mistakes,
\neither from the perspective of Islamic laws or human laws, please
\ndon't hesitate to warn, to correct me,\" Amien Rais said in his
\nacceptance speech.<\/p>\n
\"God willing, I will accept the warning and criticism with
\ngrace,\" he added, to loud cheers from the plenary session.<\/p>\n
Vice President Try Sutrisno officially closed the congress
\nlast night at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque.<\/p>\n
The presence of top government officials at the congress -- it
\nwas opened by President Soeharto on Thursday, and 13 ministers
\naddressed the participants -- attest to the importance of the
\nIslamic movement to the government.<\/p>\n
The leadership of Muhammadiyah is different from that of other
\nsocial or religious organizations in that the chairman does not
\nhave superior authority to the other board members.<\/p>\n
The smoothest<\/p>\n
Syafii Maarif, also a member of the new board, said the
\ncongress was the smoothest and most democratic he has seen. \"Not
\ntoo much conflict occurred here,\" he told the Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Syafii was among leading candidates reported to be standing in
\nopposite positions regarding the inclusion on the board of
\ncontroversial activist Lukman Harun. When the election process
\nhad been completed and both men had been included on the new
\nboard, Syafii immediately went to Lukman and hugged him in a
\ngesture of reconciliation.<\/p>\n
In his speech yesterday, Amien told the congress that he would
\nrely on his colleagues on the board and would not run the
\norganization single-handedly.<\/p>\n
\"This is a collective leadership,\" he said. \"Just like all of
\nyou, I have my weaknesses, shortcomings...So remind me if I make
\nmistakes. Being a candidate who received the most votes is not a
\ncause for me to jump in glee.\"<\/p>\n
He said that the five-year term was long and the board needed
\nall the prayers that the members could say for them in order to
\ntake the organization through to the next century.<\/p>\n
\"With the help of Allah, all burdens will be lighter, all
\ndifficulties will be resolved,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He concluded his speech by calling on all members to perform a
\nsujud syukur, a prostration in gratitude to Allah.<\/p>",
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