...but others not, call it clandestine<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): One of the promises that Ismail Hasan Metareum
\nmade shortly after being elected chairman of the Moslem-based
\nUnited Development Party (PPP) recently was he will recruit as
\nmany intellectuals as possible.<\/p>\n
\"We need their contributions in our efforts to strengthen the
\nparty,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Zarkasih Nur, also of PPP, said the party's executive board
\nhas followed up on Ismail Hasan's plan and held a meeting with 50
\nintellectuals from the country's most prestigious campuses.<\/p>\n
\"This is a new tradition for us. These intellectuals may not
\nbe included in the executive board, but they have agreed to
\nprovide us with input in running the party's programs,\" he said.<\/p>\n
When pressed to reveal the names of the scholars, however,
\nZarkasih refused. \"They cannot explicitly declare that they are
\ninvolved with PPP, because they are still bound (by their
\npositions, mostly as civil servants),\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Precautions are also needed, Zarkasih said, because PPP does
\nnot want to repeat old mistakes such as recruiting intellectuals
\nfor the party's think tank only to find later on that they had
\ntheir eyes trained on the party's chairmanship or leadership.<\/p>\n
\"There are people like that, so we have to be careful,\"
\nZarkasih said. Although he did not name names, he was apparently
\nreferring to economist Dr. Sri Bintang Pamungkas, the party's
\nenfant terrible, who was recruited because of his magnetism for
\nthe younger people but later \"betrayed\" the leadership by
\ncontesting the government-backed leader Ismail Hasan.<\/p>\n
Likewise the smallest party, the populist Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI). Dr. Sukowaluyo Mintorahardjo claimed many
\nscholars have expressed an interest in joining PDI because it
\npresents a different, courageous voice amidst the country's
\npolitical stagnation. \"We offer a venue for efforts to improve
\nsociety and implement the state-ideology Pancasila,\" he asserted.
\n\"Not positions, but struggle.\"<\/p>\n
When asked to name the scholars, however, he managed to come
\nup with only the names of noted economist Kwik Kian Gie and
\neducator Mochtar Buchori.<\/p>\n
The picture was entirely different for the ruling political
\ngrouping, Golkar, who already has a strong tradition of
\nrecruiting intellectuals.<\/p>\n
Dr. Marwah Daud Ibrahim, a leading member in the executive
\nboard, easily prattled off a long-list of names of intellectual
\nmembers of the group. It includes cabinet ministers and
\nlegislators who hold doctoral degrees or are even professors at
\nprestigious universities, as well as businessmen or members of
\nintellectual associations.<\/p>\n
The list also include noted figures such as former minister of
\neducation Fuad Hassan, and many others.<\/p>\n
\"There is a strong bond Golkar enjoys with scholars,
\nespecially because the decision-makers in this organization
\nrespect opinions and suggestions put forward by the
\nintellectuals,\" she said. \"We know our voice is heard.\"<\/p>\n
\"Golkar uses its think-tank well,\" she concluded.<\/p>\n
The impression is, that results from the apparent \"gap\"
\nbetween those who walk proud when they enter Golkar and those who
\nhave to \"sneak\" into PDI and PPP, there is more than the question
\nof which organization appreciates the intellectuals better.<\/p>\n
Instead, it poses the questions of why it becomes a matter of
\nprestige and pride to join Golkar, and why joining PDI and PPP
\ncalls for secrecy. The answer may well rest with this: uneven
\ndistribution of power. (swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/but-others-not-call-it-clandestine-1447898607",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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