Moslem activists establish 'New Masyumi'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Several Moslem activists braced themselves for
\ncriticism yesterday as they announced the establishment of
\nMasyumi, a group with the same name as the defunct Islamic
\npolitical party.<\/p>\n
Ridwan Saidi and Agus Miftach described the \"new\" Masyumi as
\nan \"Islamic group which is loyal to the state ideology Pancasila
\nand the 1945 Constitution\".<\/p>\n
\"We are going to accommodate Moslem aspirations regardless of
\ntheir backgrounds,\" Ridwan said.<\/p>\n
Masyumi is an acronym for Majelis Syarikat Umat Muslimin
\nIndonesia (the Indonesian Moslem Congregation).<\/p>\n
The \"old\" Masyumi (Majelis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia),
\ndissolved in August 1960 following conflicts with the Old Order
\nadministration under the late president Sukarno.<\/p>\n
The \"new\" Masyumi currently has no chairperson, secretary
\ngeneral or other personnel.<\/p>\n
However, Ridwan named a number of outspoken activists in the
\nlist of its \"supporters\". Among them were the sacked legislator
\nSri Bintang Pamungkas, environmentalist Indro Cahyono and
\nsoothsayer Permadi Satrio Wiwoho, chairperson of the largest
\nMoslem organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Abdurrahman Wahid.<\/p>\n
Supporters' names would be included as the group's personnel
\nwhen it registered with the Home Affairs Ministry, he said.<\/p>\n
Bintang said he had not been contacted previously by Ridwan
\nbut was willing to support any organization which was \"anti-
\nestablishment\".<\/p>\n
The \"new\" Masyumi cannot be called a \"mass organization\"
\nbecause it has yet to register to the Ministry of Home Affairs
\nand obtain official approval. Like the \"old\" Masyumi the group
\nuses stars and the moon as its symbol.<\/p>\n
\"This group, however, has no link whatsoever with the old
\nMasyumi,\" Ridwan said.<\/p>\n
Aspiration<\/p>\n
The \"new\" Masyumi was established out of the need to
\n\"accommodate the aspiration of Moslem community that could not be
\ncontained by the existing organizations and political parties\",
\nRidwan said.<\/p>\n
The state recognizes only three political groupings -- Golkar,
\nthe nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the Moslem-
\nbased United Development Party (PPP).<\/p>\n
\"Who can guarantee that Golkar, PPP and PDI will last?\" he
\nsaid. \"As Moslems, we trust that nothing is eternal except God.
\nNew Masyumi is an alternative for Moslems to face the
\nunpredictable in the future.\"<\/p>\n
Ridwan, a former legislator of the PPP faction and former
\nchairperson of the Moslem Students Association (HMI), said the
\ngroup was established because \"Indonesian Moslems need a place
\nwhich is free from manipulation\".<\/p>\n
Ridwan and Agus said the group would avoid involvement with
\nexisting political parties and would not choose Golkar, PPP or
\nPDI to voice its political aspirations.<\/p>\n
Ridwan said that one of the goals of the \"new\" Masyumi was to
\nbecome a political party.<\/p>\n
The group has also planned to hold its congress next year.
\n\"Let the congress then decide who's going to be the leader, what
\nform of organization new Masyumi will be, or even what name the
\nmembers want,\" Ridwan said.<\/p>\n
Agus Miftach told The Jakarta Post that the \"new\" Masyumi
\nwould not develop into a group of Moslem fundamentalists, as it
\nwould be run by \"moderate Moslems\".<\/p>\n
The government has not yet reacted to the new group. \"We
\ndidn't receive any warning against establishing the new Masyumi,\"
\nAgus said.<\/p>\n
Agus said he and Ridwan were not copying other groups which
\nhave established new mass organizations using defunct
\norganizations' names.<\/p>\n
Two years ago the Indonesian Christian Participation
\nAssociation (Parkindo) was established and was widely seen as a
\nresurrection of the old Indonesian Christian Party, also
\nabbreviated as \"Parkindo\".<\/p>\n
Another organization formed last month called itself
\nIndonesian National Unity (PNI). It was set up by a group of
\npeople identified with the Indonesian Nationalist Party, the
\ninitials of which were also \"PNI\".(01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/moslem-activists-establish-new-masyumi-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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