Moslem groups must play role in succession<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Society's various Moslem groups need to take a
\nmore unified stance in order to establish greater leverage and to
\nensure that no group will be alienated in the process leading up
\nto presidential succession, a discussion concludes.<\/p>\n
Political observers Fachry Ali and Muhammad A.S. Hikam
\naddressed some 100 students in a discussion here Wednesday night
\non the political role Indonesian Moslem groups, such as
\nMuhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), play in the succession of
\nnational leadership.<\/p>\n
Fachry, a well-known columnist, described the two major
\norganizations as \"standing in opposite positions,\" a situation
\nwhich could be exploited by the power holders wanting to retain
\npower.<\/p>\n
The \"reformist\" Muhammadiyah, with some 28 million urbanite
\nsupporters, and the \"traditionalist\" NU with its 30 million
\nsupporters in rural areas, have different political outlooks, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Their differences, he said, could result in one party feeling
\nalienated.<\/p>\n
\"The New Order government's development policies tend to favor
\nthe Muhammadiyah constituents, to prioritize them over the
\naspiration and expectations of the rural masses that support NU,\"
\nFachry said.<\/p>\n
\"When the state wants to implement new policies or accommodate
\nthe wishes of the community, it tends to prioritize the more
\narticulate supporters of Muhammadiyah,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fachry argued that the establishment of the influential,
\ngovernment-sponsored Indonesian Association of Moslem
\nIntellectuals (ICMI) and the authorities' recent bans on NU
\nchairman Abdurrahman Wahid from addressing gatherings has
\ndeepened the impression that the rural-based organization is
\nindeed alienated.<\/p>\n
\"President Soeharto's recent statement, that he was part of
\nthe big family of Muhammadiyah, has excluded NU,\" Fachry said.
\n\"The further this New Order administration goes, the smaller the
\nspace reserved for people who are considered NU constituents.\"<\/p>\n
NU supporters will be more eager to speak and take part in any
\ndiscussion of political succession, Fachry said, adding that
\nMuhammadiyah would more likely prefer to maintain the status quo.<\/p>\n
Hikam, who is a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of
\nSciences, however, flatly rejected Fachry's notion of the two
\nmajor organizations being polarized.<\/p>\n
The labeling of Muhammadiyah as a modernist Moslem
\norganization and NU as the more traditional one creates a harmful
\ndiscrepancy, he pointed out.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, it was Muhammadiyah chairman Amien Rais who in
\n1993 first brought up the issue of national leadership succession
\nand turned into a national controversy, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The theory of Muhammadiyah and NU as two opposite forces has
\nan irreconcilable gap,\" said Hikam, a close friend of Abdurrahman
\nWahid.<\/p>\n
Hikam believes that public discourses on political leadership
\nsuccession, especially in relation to Moslems, would be more
\nbeneficial if they were not based on a dichotomous view.<\/p>\n
Hikam conceded that the two groups indeed have different
\npolitical views and subsequently have different approaches to
\ndealing with issues.<\/p>\n
\"The issue of succession would have different impacts on the
\ntwo groups and they do cope differently,\" he said. \"This is why
\nthe people in Muhammadiyah, for instance, try to cope by creating
\nalternative symbols or institutions, such as the Moslem Bank.\"<\/p>\n
\"We need to hold dialogs and find answers to bridge the
\ndifferences,\" he said. \"Otherwise, the discrepancy which arises
\nfrom the different cosmology could be used by the power holders
\nto play one group against the other.\" (swe)<\/p>",
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