Amien says Muhammadiyah has no conflicts<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the Muhammadiyah reformist Moslem
\norganization, Amien Rais, denies any internal rift occurring in
\nconnection with next month's chairmanship election.<\/p>\n
\"There is no such thing as the `poles of Jakarta and
\nYogyakarta' in Muhammadiyah,\" he said yesterday, referring to two
\nmajor branches of the organization. \"Neither are ulemas pitted
\nagainst intellectuals.\"<\/p>\n
\"There are people who say that there are conflicting sides
\nwithin Muhammadiyah, but those so-called poles are imaginary,\" he
\ntold the Antara news agency in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged only the existence of small groups trying to
\ndisrupt the organization from within.<\/p>\n
\"These parasites should be eliminated. But the organization
\nitself is growing healthily,\" he said, without making specific
\nallusions to anyone.<\/p>\n
The congress is expected to proceed smoothly and compactly and
\nto serve as an example for other congresses, he said confidently.<\/p>\n
The organization will hold its 43rd congress and elect its new
\nleadership in Banda Aceh from July 6 to July 10.<\/p>\n
For the last several weeks, speculation has been rife as to
\nwhether the organization will be able to iron out alleged
\ndifferences among various groups during the congress.<\/p>\n
However, a number of scholars, including political scientist
\nAfan Gaffar of the Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, have
\nsaid that there are groups standing on opposite poles in the
\norganization. He said there are leaders who are loyal to the
\norganization, and there are those who only seek personal gain
\nfrom it.<\/p>\n
But yet another prominent scholar took the opposite view.
\nPolitical observer Maswadi Rauf from the University of Indonesia
\noptimistically said that there is only a small chance that
\nconflicts will occur during the chairmanship elections because
\n\"there is no rigid dichotomy\" within Muhammadiyah.<\/p>\n
Unlike the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) organization, which is
\ncurrently chaired by controversial scholar Abdurrahman Wahid,
\nMuhammadiyah does not appear to have pronounced differences among
\nits members' views, he said.<\/p>\n
For instance, there are no people who are overly \"pro\" or
\n\"against\" the government, Maswadi told The Jakarta Post. \"There's
\nno such dichotomy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think there are going to be sharp conflicts occurring
\nin the congress. At least I haven't seen signs of such
\nconflicts,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I believe the organization will be able to avert full-blown
\nconflicts because most of the leading members are intellectuals
\nwho don't have radically contradictory views,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Maswadi also said he believed the government would take a
\nmilder stance regarding the election of the new Muhammadiyah
\nleadership, and would not interfere as much as it did during the
\nelection of the NU's executive board in December last year.<\/p>\n
\"The government is not as concerned as it was then over who's
\ngoing to be the new chairman,\" Maswadi said. \"I believe it's the
\nsame for the government, whether the congress elects Amien or
\nLukman Harun, or anybody else.\"<\/p>\n
\"There are great opportunities for prospective candidates to
\ncompete honestly,\" Maswadi said.<\/p>\n
Lukman Harun is a former leading member of the organization,
\non whom analysts have slapped various labels, including
\n\"government lobbyist\".<\/p>\n
Afan<\/p>\n
Afan Gaffar said yesterday in Yogyakarta that Muhammadiyah
\nwill have a more marked \"political nuance\" if it elects Amien
\nRais next month. \"This is a logical consequence of the character
\nof that leader,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Afan himself has been inviting criticism over his analysis of
\nthe organization's leaders. Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi
\nTaher has said that Afan stepped over the line when he said there
\nwere some Muhammadiyah leaders who were looking out only for
\ntheir own political interests.<\/p>\n
\"His analysis was way out of line,\" Tarmizi was quoted by
\nAntara as saying yesterday. \"It's not true that there are groups
\nof such leaders in Muhammadiyah.<\/p>\n
\"Muhammadiyah has developed and matured. There are no internal
\nproblems, so it's not true that it has three groups of leaders.\"<\/p>\n
Afan grouped Amien Rais and several other leaders as those who
\nare loyal to the organization, Lukman Harun and Djazman Al Kindi
\nas those who only seek a livelihood from it, and intellectuals
\nDin Syamsuddin and Watik Pratiknya as those who threaten to use
\nthe organization as a steppingstone to further their political
\ninterests.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi also reiterated the government's non-interference
\nstance on the congress, saying it will not favor any candidate
\nover the others. (swe\/har\/02)<\/p>",
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