President Habibie losing publicity battle: ICMI<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Ahmad Tirtosudiro, the acting chairman of the
\nAssociation of Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), said on Saturday that
\nPresident Habibie appeared to be losing the publicity battle on
\nthe question of his legitimacy.<\/p>\n
Ahmad said ICMI, along with many other groups, felt that the
\ntransfer from Soeharto to Habibie in May was in accordance with
\nthe letters of the 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
But their views do not entirely prevail and he blamed this
\npartly on the mass media.<\/p>\n
\"We have to admit that the print and broadcasting media are
\ndominated by those who do not share this view,\" he said in a
\nmedia briefing after kicking off ICMI's annual conference.<\/p>\n
\"We lost in the mass media (battle),\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ahmad denied that ICMI was supporting Habibie's presidency
\nbecause the President was its chairman.<\/p>\n
\"We are independent (of Habibie). If he's right, we support
\nhim. If he errs, we criticize him,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Habibie is technically still the chairman of the influential
\nMoslem organization. However, state protocol mandated that he
\nhand over the post to Ahmad, as caretaker, in March after he was
\nappointed vice president.<\/p>\n
In the past, ICMI has provided Habibie with the political
\nsupport.<\/p>\n
The conference was opened by Sultan Hamengkubuwono X and
\nattended by more than 300 participants. Several cabinet members
\nalso took part, including Muslimin Nasution (forestry), Adi
\nSasono (cooperatives), AM Saefuddin (food and horticulture), Tuty
\nAlawiyah (women's affairs) and Soleh Shalahuddin (agriculture).<\/p>\n
The conference is slated to end on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Ahmad ruled out the possibility of turning ICMI into a
\npolitical party, or of giving its support to any of the old or
\nemerging political parties which are contesting the general
\nelection next year.<\/p>\n
\"But ICMI members are permitted to join any political party of
\ntheir own choosing,\" he said. He pointed out that two members,
\nAmien Rais and Yusril Ihza Mahendar, lead, respectively, the
\nPeople's Mandate Party and the Moon and Crescent Party.<\/p>\n
While proclaiming ICMI to be apolitical, Ahmad did comment on
\nthe controversial issue of the sociopolitical role of the Armed
\nForces (ABRI).<\/p>\n
Ahmad, a former Army general, said ABRI's role should be
\nretained, albeit in a smaller proportion, but he also insisted
\nthat the military also publicly announced that it would not
\nsupport any of the political parties at the next election.<\/p>\n
ICMI would like to see a significant reduction in the number
\nof ABRI seats in the House of Representatives, he said, without
\ncommitting to any specific figure.<\/p>\n
He said an outright elimination of ABRI's sociopolitical role
\nwould be detrimental to the country. \"We still feel the trauma of
\na completely civilian government. We have tried it before and it
\ndidn't work,\" he said. The trauma he referred to was the civilian
\ngovernment of president Sukarno in the 1950s and 1960s.<\/p>\n
He said the presence of ABRI's officers in civilian posts in
\ncentral and regional administrations in the future should be
\nlimited on a needs basis only. (swa\/44\/emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-habibie-losing-publicity-battle-icmi-1447893297",
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