ICMI begins second congress<\/p>\n
By Santi WE Soekanto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto will open today the second
\ncongress of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals, a
\nRp 2 billion (US$ 878,734) gathering of some 1,000 leading
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
The Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) has
\nbeen preparing for this event with great fanfare and bustle. It
\nheld numerous seminars, discussions, exhibitions and other
\nactivities on Islam, the economy, politics and technology.<\/p>\n
As its leader claimed, the influential association was trying
\nto translate its main goals, known locally as programs of Imtaq
\nand Iptek, into reality. The terms are abbreviations of the words
\n\"faith\", \"piety\", \"science\" and \"technology\".<\/p>\n
The terms sum up the goals of ICMI: to establish a new breed
\nof good quality Moslems who are useful to the environment they
\nlive in.<\/p>\n
However, faith, science and technology may not be the only
\nthings on which the congress will have to focus its attention.<\/p>\n
There are a host of other issues to tend to: from its
\nperceived proximity to power holders and alleged lack of
\nindependence, to rifts between members, so-called elitist
\nprograms, and accusations that ICMI is a mere political tool for
\ncertain interests groups.<\/p>\n
Chairman<\/p>\n
Unlike the congresses of other Moslem-based organizations,
\nhowever, the period running up to the congress has been
\nrelatively devoid of controversies over who will be elected
\nchairman.<\/p>\n
There were some discussions about whether incumbent chairman
\nB.J. Habibie should be re-elected, or whether the organization
\nshould display its independence by electing someone else.<\/p>\n
There is only a handful of proponents for the second line of
\nthought, including legislator A.M. Saefuddin of the United
\nDevelopment Party, but the idea has not endured.<\/p>\n
It seems that the re-election of Habibie, who is also minister
\nof research and technology, is already a foregone conclusion in
\nthe minds of many people.<\/p>\n
Even groups standing in opposite camps within the
\norganization, those who are close to Habibie and those who stand
\nslightly apart, agree that Habibie is the man for the job.<\/p>\n
\"I believe 99.9 percent of all ICMI members in Jakarta want
\nHabibie to retain the position,\" said Lukman Harun, a leading
\nmember of the Jakarta branch.<\/p>\n
Sources told The Jakarta Post that the numerous preliminary
\nelections at the hundreds of ICMI units across the country saw
\nHabibie's name smoothly rising to the top.<\/p>\n
Adi Sasono, director of the Center for Information and
\nDevelopment Studies, a think tank of ICMI, confirmed this.<\/p>\n
There are several other names that obtain wide support, such
\nas former minister of environment Emil Salim, chairman of Jakarta
\nbranch Ahmad Tirtosudiro and international relation expert Amien
\nRais, but Habibie is still at the top.<\/p>\n
Habibie himself has never said outright that he was willing to
\nbe nominated. Responding to questions about whether President
\nSoeharto would approve if he were reelected, Habibie said he's
\nconfident Soeharto \"would heed the public's wish\".<\/p>\n
The key to whether Habibie will or will not stay at the helm
\nof the organization, indeed, depends on President Soeharto's
\napproval.<\/p>\n
Apart from the serious controversy over the chairmanship, ICMI
\nfinds itself under growing criticism by various parties.<\/p>\n
Adi Sasono and other leading members have been spending a fair
\namount of time debating and deflecting accusations. One of the
\nmost frequent accusations hurled at ICMI is that it's too
\ndependent on Habibie, \"the super minister\" who happens to be a
\nclose confidant of President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Critics have linked the question of independence with the
\nissue of chairmanship, arguing that replacing Habibie with
\nanother figure would help cut the association's umbilical cord
\nwith the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Habibie dismissed the arguments, as did a number of other
\nleaders. The question of ICMI's perceived proximity with the
\npower holders, however, evoked stronger reactions.<\/p>\n
\"For an organization to be independent, does it necessarily
\nhave to stand in opposition with the power holders?\" Adi Sasono
\nretorted.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that ICMI has performed well during the past
\nfive years since its inception in 1990 because of a \"well-laid
\nsystem\".<\/p>\n
In addition, \"it's not even enough to be close to the power
\nholders,\" Adi said. \"We should be that power. If we want to bring
\nchanges to society, we should do it from within (the system)\".<\/p>\n
Related to the issue of independence is the organization's
\npolitical leaning.<\/p>\n
Despite the leaders' repeated assertion that ICMI is not a
\npolitical organization, people accused it of dabbling in elite
\npolitics. The organization was behind the appointment of many
\nMoslem activists to some influential positions, critics charged.<\/p>\n
Other critics have said that ICMI has become a mere tool for
\nthe power holders to mobilize the increasingly influential
\nMoslems, especially those from the middle class.<\/p>\n
Image -- Page 2<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/icmi-begins-second-congress-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }