Expert highlights ABRI declining political influence<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The country's emphasis on economic development
\nand the growing clout of technocrats are both causing a decline
\nof Armed Forces (ABRI) control over policymaking processes, says
\nan expert.<\/p>\n
Indonesia-watcher Howard M. Federspiel from Ohio State
\nUniversity in the United States said here Saturday that the
\nchange of the political map has contributed to the fact that the
\nmilitary can no longer determine the running of many things
\nsimply by giving or withholding its approval.<\/p>\n
According to the professor of political science who has
\nwritten a number of books on Indonesia, in the 1970s many
\ninstitutions would have simply submitted to ABRI's will.<\/p>\n
"Today ABRI can't do that. If they do, businessmen will say,
\n'o...no, no' and the technocrats will say 'we have to repay our
\nloans'," Federspiel told participants in a discussion on Islam
\nand politics at the Center of Community and Islamic Studies here.<\/p>\n
Public order is the area where the military's authority
\nremains stable, he said. It has control over East Timor, for
\ninstance, because there is security problem in the territory.<\/p>\n
"But does the military have control over Jakarta? Hardly,
\nbecause there's no security issue here," he said.<\/p>\n
He explained that the changes were brought about by rapid
\ndevelopment. He pointed out how the buildings of financial
\ninstitutions, such as banks and companies, now dominate the
\nappearance of Indonesian cities.<\/p>\n
"Ten years ago, if you drove to an average-sized city in
\nIndonesia, the first things you'd notice would be government
\noffices and military structures," he said.<\/p>\n
Among Federspiel's books are Popular Literature of the Koran
\nin Indonesia and The Renewal of Islamic Thought in Indonesia:
\nPerception of Islam.<\/p>\n
Moslems<\/p>\n
Federspiel also described the increasingly close relations
\nthat Indonesian Moslems enjoy with the power holders.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that, in the beginning, the New Order
\nadministration gave the community only limited opportunities to
\nexpress their political aspirations because of the Moslems' own
\nfailure in establishing political clout.<\/p>\n
Islam could have emerged as an "extraordinary political power"
\nhad it seized the opportunity created by the downfall of the now-
\nbanned Indonesian Communist Party in the mid-1960s, he said.<\/p>\n
Now that Moslems have come full circle in their relationship
\nwith the power holders, with both parties now willing to
\naccommodate one another, Islam in Indonesia will solidify its
\nsocial and economic power.<\/p>\n
Led by Moslem intellectuals and professionals, the community
\nwill now place greater demand on the government to recognize
\ntheir interests, he said.<\/p>\n
He admitted that the rapid development will somehow affect
\nMoslems' way of life, but not to a great extent. "Indonesian
\nMoslems will not turn out like the West within the next twenty
\nyears," he said.<\/p>\n
"They'll find some way of saying, 'stop, this is far enough.
\nNo further'," Federspiel is also the director of the Indonesian-
\nCanadian Islamic Higher Education Project at McGill University in
\nMontreal, Canada. (31)<\/p>",
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