Hamzah Haz: A politician with good survival instinct<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta,
\nkorpur@yahoo.com<\/p>\n
It has always been a customary routine for Indonesia's
\npresidents after Soekarno, all Muslims, and five vice presidents,
\nincluding Megawati Soekarnoputri, to attend nationally organized
\nChristmas celebrations as well as annual ceremonies celebrating
\nBuddhism and Hinduism.<\/p>\n
That formality of that routine was nearly interrupted last
\nChristmas. It was unbelievable for many that Vice President
\nHamzah Haz would attend the national Christmas celebration on
\nDec. 26. The chairman of the Muslim-oriented United Development
\nParty (PPP) seemed to be among those who thought it was sinful
\nfor Muslims to convey Christmas greetings to Christians and
\nCatholics.<\/p>\n
But they were proven wrong. The Vice President attended the
\nChristmas ceremony along with his first wife Nani Hamzah. But the
\nfear over his expected absence may be a reflection of his image
\nas an intolerant Muslim leader among non Muslims or even possibly
\namong moderate Muslims.<\/p>\n
This view is still debatable; there are others who argue that
\nHamzah is the defender of most Muslims in this country, and that
\nsuspicions about him are only felt by a small group of people.<\/p>\n
The Vice President consistently expresses his critical
\nattitude toward the U.S., especially after the Sept. 11 tragedy.
\nIn commenting about the tragedy, Hamzah was quoted by the press
\nas saying, \"Hopefully, the tragedy can cleanse the sins by the
\nU.S..\"<\/p>\n
Hamzah knows very well how to play to the deep-seated
\ndisappointment, denial and anger of Indonesian Muslims over what
\nthey see as allegations without strong evidence from the U.S.,
\nthat terrorists exist here. Other leaders, like Megawati and the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais appear
\nhesitant to stand up to Washington.<\/p>\n
Like it or not, in the absence of the voices of other leaders,
\nHamzah succeeds in at least appearing as a strong defender of
\nIndonesia against foreign pressures and hostilities. Abdurrahman
\nWahid is an internationally respected Muslim intellectual,
\nespecially when he was still chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).
\nHowever, after his fall from the presidency last year, his voice
\nhas become much less effective, and his fall has also affected
\nNU's self-confidence.<\/p>\n
The National Awakening Party (PKB), co-founded by Abdurrahman,
\nis also affected by the NU situation. Amien's party, the National
\nAwakening Party (PAN), is also less effective given its
\nrelatively small number of seats in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
When leaders of the two largest Muslim organizations, NU and
\nMuhammadiyah started to jointly speak up following the strong
\nrhetoric from Muslims in the wake of Sept. 11, they eventually
\ngained an international reputation as the country's moderate
\nMuslim leaders. However, they still need more time to reach the
\ncredibility that Abdurrahman enjoys within the international
\ncommunity.<\/p>\n
As for Hamzah, he does not want to appear to be a hypocrite,
\nalthough he is also often inconsistent. In the case of Megawati,
\nhe had to swallow his own words. In the presidential election in
\n1999, citing Islamic teachings, he said a woman could not become
\npresident. Nearly two years later he supported her as
\nAbdurrahman's successor. Hamzah also shows a confusing stance on
\nthe necessity to include the sharia in the amended Constitution.<\/p>\n
He never tries to hide the fact that he has two wives. Hamzah
\nputs his doctorate title in official documents, although it is
\nonly an honorary degree from a little known university in the
\nU.S. Megawati, who received an honorary doctor of law from
\nJapan's prestigious Waseda University last year, never uses her
\nnew title.<\/p>\n
His first foreign guest after his swearing-in as the country's
\nninth vice president last July was from Libya while on the same
\nday President Megawati received the U.S. ambassador for
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Hamzah openly shows his sympathy to Laskar Jihad leader Jafar
\nUmar Thalib, most recently, when the latter was detained by
\npolice. He also met with Indonesian Mujahidin Council leader Abu
\nBakar Ba'asyir. His attitude has sparked controversy, but he may
\nbe right when he said that he met with them as Muslim brothers.
\nHamzah is ready to accommodate the aspirations of outspoken
\nMuslim organizations.<\/p>\n
Hamzah is a veteran politician, and knows very well how to
\nsurvive. He was able to endure and thrive during Soeharto's 32-
\nyear dictatorship. He was a member of the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR) from 1971, representing NU, from 1973 to
\n1998 he represented PPP. Only three parties were allowed under
\nSoeharto, including Soeharto's party Golkar, the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) and PPP.<\/p>\n
The fact that he could maintain his seat in the legislature
\nfor consecutive 27 years, while the military used to tightly
\nscrutinize PPP members, proved his political skill. As he served
\na long time with the House's State Budget Commission, Hamzah is
\nwell-known for his knowledge of the economy. For years, he
\nregularly wrote articles on the economy for Kompas daily.<\/p>\n
When B.J. Habibie replaced Soeharto in May 1998, he appointed
\nHamzah as state minister of state enterprises. In December that
\nyear, he was elected to chair PPP. One month before the general
\nelections in June 1999, he resigned from the Cabinet.<\/p>\n
Born on Feb. 15, 1940 in Ketapang, West Kalimantan. He failed
\nto finish his studies at the Faculty of Economics, Tanjungpura
\nUniversity, in Pontianak.<\/p>\n
Some political analysts, like Arbi Sanit, have pointed out
\nthat Hamzah has already started campaigning for the 2004
\npresidential elections. Among Muslim-oriented political parties,
\nso far he is likely the strongest candidate for the next
\npresident.<\/p>\n
He now is no longer just the leader of PPP or Islamic society.
\nAlong with Megawati, they are considered to be the parents and
\nprotectors of the whole nation. Hamzah's credibility is now being
\ntested -- is he able to safeguard all highly diverse Indonesians,
\nregardless of religion, ethnicity and other backgrounds?<\/p>\n
Eventually, it will be much more difficult for him to convince
\nthe international community of his impartial leadership, if he
\ndoes not improve that image right now.<\/p>\n
The nation needs Hamzah Haz. As vice president, he is too
\nclose to the top to be anything less than a statesman. He has
\nshown himself as a populist leader, and he now needs to show his
\nstatesmanship.<\/p>",
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