Hamzah: The accidental politician<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Hamzah Haz, the low-profile man newly entrusted
\nto lead the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP), is a
\nself-styled, accidental politician.<\/p>\n
Born in the West Kalimantan district of Ketapang on Feb. 15,
\n1940, Hamzah, known for his neat safari suit and slicked-back
\nhair, usually hidden under his black peci cap, always dreamt of
\nbecoming an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n
Hamzah was born in a remote village where his late father was
\nan elementary school teacher. When the family moved to Ketapang
\nto allow Hamzah to continue his studies, his father switched
\nprofessions, becoming a contractor.<\/p>\n
In People's Mouthpiece, Profile of 16 Selected House of
\nRepresentatives Politicians, Hamzah says that his father was a
\nbusiness pioneer among the indigenous people in Ketapang. It was
\nhis father who inspired Hamzah to pursue entrepreneurship in his
\nchildhood.<\/p>\n
\"Today, there are no indigenous contractors from my father's
\ngeneration. Their businesses had unhappy endings because they
\nwere unable to compete with the younger contractors who resorted
\nto unfair tactics such as bribing officials,\" he says.<\/p>\n
In fact, even today his childhood dreams remain. While he is
\nbusy politicking, the father of 12 children and husband to two
\nwives -- Asmaniah and Titin Kartini -- runs a money changing
\nbusiness, Pawan Kapuas Money Changer.<\/p>\n
Hamzah quit his illustrious stint at the House of
\nRepresentatives, where he spent 20 years as a legislator, when
\nPresident B.J. Habibie named him state minister of investment
\nlast May. Hamzah's last position in the House of Representatives
\nwas chief of the PPP faction.<\/p>\n
After he finished Senior Economic High School in Ketapang in
\n1960, Hamzah joined Bebas newspaper in the West Kalimantan
\ncapital of Pontianak. A year later he became a teacher at
\nCooperative High School in Ketapang, which sent him to the State
\nCooperative Academy in Yogyakarta. Upon his return to Pontianak
\nin 1965, he enrolled at Tanjungpura University's School of
\nEconomics, where he earned his BA in corporate management.<\/p>\n
Hamzah moved to Jakarta in 1971 when he was appointed a House
\nmember representing Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).<\/p>\n
In fact, Hamzah did not want to go to move to Jakarta and
\nbecome a House member. If he had to take part in the political
\njungle, he wanted it to be as a member of the Provincial
\nLegislative Council.<\/p>\n
His political career began in 1968 when he became a member of
\nthe Provincial Legislative Council for Golkar, representing the
\n1966 Generation although he never dropped his NU membership.<\/p>\n
Only 28 at the time, Hamzah was elected council chief,
\ndefeating the older Soewardi Puspojo from the Armed Forces
\nfaction. But he was never installed as chief for unknown reasons
\nbut he thought it was because he was \"too young\". He questioned
\nthe governor's that he was not installed because he was a member
\nof NU, which already had a representative on the council's board
\nof executives. The chairmanship went to Soewardi after a year's
\nstandoff.<\/p>\n
In 1968, Hamzah decided to quit Golkar and concentrate on NU.<\/p>\n
In the 1971 election, he was elected to both the Provincial
\nLegislative Council and the House of Representatives as a
\nrepresentative from NU. He was forced to forget his dream of
\nstaying in Pontianak as a teacher and businessman.<\/p>\n
Hamzah, then 31, was NU's youngest representative in Jakarta's
\nHouse of Representatives. Aware that he had neither a santri
\n(Islamic education) or an ulema background, he was motivated to
\nlearn more about the state economy.<\/p>\n
NU and three other Islamic parties, Muslimin Indonesia,
\nSyarikat Islam Indonesia and PERTI, merged into the United
\nDevelopment Party when in 1973 the Soeharto regime combined a
\ndozen political parties into three: PPP, Golkar and the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party (PDI).<\/p>\n
Throughout his tenure, Hamzah had always sat on the committee
\nwhich dealt with the state budget.<\/p>\n
Hamzah is acclaimed for his shrewd analysis of state budgets.
\nAlthough he came from an \"opposition\" party, the government would
\nconsult him when preparing the annual state budget.<\/p>\n
\"Before the government started to make state budget estimates,
\nmy colleague from the Finance Ministry usually came to me for
\nconsultations. When the budget bill was passed, people would be
\nsurprised to find my figures in the budget estimate,\" he recalls.<\/p>\n
In his opinion, being a House member is not a profession,
\nbecause one can be withdrawn at any time by the political
\norganization they represent.<\/p>\n
His obsession to return to his hometown in West Kalimantan
\nprompted him in 1981 and 1992 to retire from the House and make
\nway for younger members. But, he says, influential PPP leaders
\nand activists urged him to stay on.<\/p>\n
Hamzah acknowledges being a House member has been wonderful,
\nnot only because of the handsome financial rewards but also
\nbecause the legislative body has been a good place to contribute
\nideas to help the country.<\/p>\n
He is remembered for his insistence that the House should have
\nmore authority than the government in making the budget, as the
\nConstitution says. He also argued that the House should not
\nalways buckle to the government's will and become a rubber stamp
\ninstitution.<\/p>\n
Hamzah likes to portray himself as a populist politician. He
\nsays that he goes to bed right after watching TVRI's 9 p.m. world
\nnews, and wakes up at 2:30 a.m. for a morning prayer. Then he
\nwill jog or go to the market with his wife, where he will talk
\nwith the common people he represents.<\/p>\n
Hamzah's ascension to the PPP's top slot is rekindling hope
\nfor the party in the upcoming election, scheduled for June 7 next
\nyear.<\/p>\n
His election shattered the myth that the PPP chairmanship
\nalways goes to a politician from the Muslimin Indonesia faction.
\nIn the past, this has stirred factional bickering within the
\nparty.<\/p>\n
Hamzah pledge to woo back NU politicians who have scattered to
\nnumerous new political parties. NU leaders, unsatisfied with the
\nexisting parties, have established a total of five new political
\nparties so far.<\/p>\n
NU, a former political party that quit politics in 1984 to
\nconcentrate on its original social and educational missions,
\nclaims to have more than 30 million members -- mostly in rural
\nareas.<\/p>\n
\"NU was merged into PPP, so it is just logical that its
\nmembers remain in PPP,\" Hamzah said shortly after he emerged as
\nthe winner in the race for the party chairmanship.<\/p>\n
Hamzah topped his closest competitor, A.M. Saefuddin, thanks
\nto the solid support of NU leaders, who were badly divided in the
\npast party chairmanship elections.<\/p>\n
This time, NU leaders threatened to lend their support to
\nother Islamic political parties if the PPP congress failed to
\nelect Hamzah.<\/p>\n
Soon after he was elected party leader, he had to answer the
\nsame question over and over again: \"If the PPP wins the election,
\nare you ready to become president?\" And he gave the same answer
\ntime and again: \"I don't even think about that. Let me build up
\nthe PPP first.\" (pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hamzah-the-accidental-politician-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}