Are student politics making a come back?<\/p>\n
Despite its chaotic congress, the Moslem Students Association
\n(HMI) managed to produce a far-reaching statement recently. Noted
\nintellectual Aswab Mahasin takes a look at this incident.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Preceding its birthday celebrations in
\nYogyakarta later this month, the local coordinator of the
\nIndonesian Nationalist Student Movement (GMNI) has come up with a
\nstatement on the need to ratify the existing conventions on human
\nrights while calling for a review of the colonial legacy in
\nIndonesian law.<\/p>\n
This statement is moderate compared to an earlier statement
\nissued by the Moslem Student Association (HMI) at the conclusion
\nof their congress in Surabaya last week.<\/p>\n
This is understandable, as the GMNI has to keep a low profile
\nas the stigma of Soekarnoism puts it in a disadvantaged position
\npolitically. But the fact that they have touched the sensitive
\nissue of human rights may indicate that the time has come for a
\nhigher profile to be taken.<\/p>\n
The HMI statement was a real surprise. The congress, which as
\nreported was chaotic and which was heavily criticized as being
\nintellectually inferior, nevertheless produced courageous
\npolitical recommendations. It recommended, among other things,
\nthat there should be a limit to presidential terms in office, and
\nthat public officials declare their wealth as they assume office.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, nothing is new about those ideas. Indeed, some
\npolitical scientists had proposed a similar limit on presidential
\nterms at various seminars, and Dr. Amien Rais had reportedly come
\nup with the same idea during a congress of the Muhammadiyah
\norganization. However, previously such an idea was always
\nformally turned down as it was considered politically
\ninappropriate. Only HMI came up with such a courageous formal
\nstatement. Politically it may not have any real impact, however,
\nsince HMI is a non-political organization. But symbolically it
\nmay be significant.<\/p>\n
After the long silence, such statements from those extra-
\ncampus organizations seem to indicate that something is brewing.
\nAs is widely known, the \"campus normalization\" policy has had its
\ndesired effect for about a decade now. It has canalized student
\nactivism along campus boundaries, and within the campuses
\nactivism is geared towards intra-faculty or intra-department
\nprograms. The well known phraseology has been that the campus is
\nfor academic pursuits only; students who want to flirt with
\npolitics should play their games elsewhere.<\/p>\n
This legacy of Daoed Joesoef (former minister of education)
\nhas brought about dramatic results. Extra-campus organizations
\nhave experienced a sharp decline; they have lost popularity and
\nhave become incapable of enticing the best students to join them.<\/p>\n
Intra-faculty organizations have become the center of
\nattraction where the best and the brightest students go to
\ncompete for leadership and excellence. But it has been excellence
\nexisting in isolation; what is brewing on campus finds no
\nresonance in the political public and what is brewing among the
\npublic has failed to stir campus activists into motion. Gone are
\nthe days when extra-campus student organizations produced such
\npublic figures as Mar'ie Mohamad (HMI), Cosmas Batubara (PMKRI or
\nthe Indonesian Catholic Students Association) or Siswono
\nYudohusodo (GMNI).<\/p>\n
It turned out that the short-run agenda to pacify the campuses
\nhas taken its toll in the long run: the declining role of
\nuniversities in providing public leaders of the future.<\/p>\n
Things may change, however. There has been talk of reviving
\nthe Dewan Mahasiswa, the university student council consisting of
\nfaculty student representatives. This used to be the center of
\ngravity around which both extra- and intra-university
\norganizations competed for leadership and excellence. As such, it
\nused to be the strategic point linking campuses to the pulse and
\ntune of public aspirations. And when there was a call for action,
\nit was the central axis where decisions were made and actions
\nwere generated.<\/p>\n
In retrospect, minister Daoed Joesoef hit the right target
\nwhen he dissolved the student councils. But while it has served
\nthe short-run objectives, it certainly denied us our need for a
\nhealthy, competent, responsible and competitive generation of
\nleaders in the long run.<\/p>\n
Now that the political system is fully under control, order
\nand security well-guaranteed and the economy certainly well-
\nmanaged, are we again going to undermine the blossoming of
\nleadership among future generations? Is it not our duty as a
\nnation to see that these promising flowers of the future will
\nhave all the opportunities to grow and to flourish?<\/p>\n
The writer is deputy program director for leadership training
\nin environment and development (LEAD-Program) with the Foundation
\nfor Sustainable Development, based in Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/are-student-politics-making-a-come-back-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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