Establishment of 'New Masyumi' queried<\/p>\n
By Wisnu Pramudya & Santi W.E. Soekanto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Anwar Haryono, the former leader of Masyumi,
\ncold shouldered the establishment of a new organization bearing
\nthe name of the now-dissolved Islamic political party.<\/p>\n
\"That organization is not the same as Masyumi,\" he said, and
\nrefused to give further comments.<\/p>\n
Only last week Haryono has said that people who wish to
\nestablish new organizations bearing the names of past or defunct
\norganizations run the risk of confusing the public.<\/p>\n
The respected leader of the Indonesian Council of Islamic
\nPropagation (DDII) said the former members and supporters of
\nMasyumi \"are not worried by various parties' intentions of
\nestablish new organizations under any name\".<\/p>\n
\"If there are people who wish to establish a new mass
\norganization called Masyumi, without having any connection to the
\nformer institution, they may, however, simply confuse the
\npublic,\" according to Anwar.<\/p>\n
The name of the once highly influential political party,
\nMasyumi, stood for Majelis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia, whereas the
\none established yesterday by activists Ridwan Saidi and Agus
\nMiftach is Majelis Syarikat Ummat Muslimin Indonesia (the
\nIndonesian Moslem Congregation) whose acronym is also Masyumi.<\/p>\n
The plans of Ridwan and Agus to establish \"a new Masyumi\",
\nwhich some people see as a resurrection of the party, had already
\nraised eyebrows among observers.<\/p>\n
Political observer Deliar Noer told The Jakarta Post he
\ndoubted the new organization would have roots strong enough to
\nsurvive. During the past three decades former leaders of the \"old
\nMasyumi\" have not prepared any return to politics, he said.<\/p>\n
Political observer Fachry Ali at the Indonesian Institute of
\nScience agreed with Anwar, saying the new organization is \"cut
\noff\" from both the leaders of the old organization, or from the
\npeople who used to support Masyumi.<\/p>\n
Ramlan Mardjoned, former secretary of the late Prawoto
\nMangkusasmito, a leader of \"old Masyumi\", also said the move was
\nunnecessary.<\/p>\n
\"There's no need to establish a new Masyumi, particularly if
\nit's only a copy-cat reaction to the current mushrooming of new
\norganizations bearing similarities to old, disbanded
\norganizations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ramlan said the activists of the \"old\" Masyumi have
\nsuccessfully established \"continuous processes of transfer of
\nvalues and of cadre building\".<\/p>\n
\"These values are truth and justice,\" he said. Since DDII was
\nestablished in 1968, its cadres have consistently adopted a
\ncritical stance toward the administration, suggesting corrections
\nwhen deemed necessary.<\/p>\n
Every individual who upholds these two values, he claimed,
\nembodied the ideals of Masyumi. \"In this sense, Masyumi is
\nalready here, and its members everywhere,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Masyumi was a fusion of a number of Moslem political parties,
\nincluding Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, in 1943. It was one
\nof the main political forces in the early years of Indonesia's
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
Masyumi started opposing President Sukarno in the late 1950s.
\nMany of its leaders, who were unhappy with the growing power of
\nthe Indonesian Communist Party, joined the PRRI\/Permesta
\nrebellions led by local Army leaders in Sumatra and Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
In August 1960, Sukarno gave it a deadline of 30 days to
\ndissolve or be declared outlawed; he also sent some leaders to
\njail. Prawito Mangkusasmito chose the first option.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto released the jailed Masyumi leaders when he
\ntook power in 1966, but they were barred from reviving the
\norganization or from assuming influential positions in any
\npolitical organization.<\/p>\n
Another question which has emerged before the establishment of
\na new Masyumi was whether the government planned to rehabilitate
\nMasyumi.<\/p>\n
The question grew when the government announced it would
\npresent posthumously meritorious services awards on four Masyumi
\nleaders earlier this month.<\/p>\n
The recipients of the awards were former leaders of Masyumi:
\nJusuf Wibisono, Kasman Singodimedjo, Ki Bagus Hadikoesoemo and
\nPrawoto Mangkusasmito.<\/p>\n
The government, however, has denied any such plans.<\/p>\n
Yusril Ihza Mahendra, an expert on constitutional law at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, argued that the party was never formally
\nbanned because its leaders chose to dissolve before the 30 days
\ndeadline were up.<\/p>\n
\"Formally, Masyumi was never outlawed,\" Ramlan said. \"There is
\nno need for rehabilitation.\"<\/p>\n
Although he claimed that there is no need for a new Masyumi,
\nRamlan said he did wish to see the emergence of a new political
\nparty to express the aspiration of \"the ex-Masyumi mass\".<\/p>\n
\"The current system, with two political parties and Golkar, is
\nunsatisfactory,\" he said, \"But the political climate is such that
\nestablishing a new party is not possible.\"<\/p>",
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