The horror of cult<\/p>\n
Last Thursday this nation heard a terrible thing. Something
\nthat appeared three decades ago in its political lexicon, only to
\nbe soon forgotten.<\/p>\n
When Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher told the
\npress that President Soeharto did not want to be made into a cult
\nfigure, he did not explain why the head of state had discussed
\nthe matter with him.<\/p>\n
The statement makes people look to society to see whether
\nthere are any leanings there toward such a dangerous attitude.<\/p>\n
Did the President suddenly remember that, as he said, cult
\nfigures were blatantly against Islamic teaching?<\/p>\n
Or, despite the absence of such twisted loyalty in society,
\ndid he feel the need to warn us, to prevent the nation from
\nplunging into chaos after him?<\/p>\n
He might have remembered that Indonesia plunged into political
\nand economic turmoil after making a cult figure out of founding
\npresident Sukarno.<\/p>\n
Or is it because he did not need such a thing even when he was
\nyoung, and he needs it less now that he is older? Or was it a
\nreminder to the members of the People's Consultative Assembly who
\nwill reelect him for another term, to be objective in their
\ndecision making?<\/p>\n
In the past, seasoned politicians have made hilarious
\nstatements voicing their support for him, or uttering so-called
\npolitical prayers for his good health. Many may have understood
\nthis to be the first steps toward making him a cult figure.<\/p>\n
That Soeharto believes -- as quoted by Minister Tarmizi --
\nthat he can lead the nation because the people trust him, and not
\nfor any other reason, shows that he does not need expressions of
\nsupport.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's unwillingness to be made into a cult figure sounds
\nmore spiritual when he rejects the notion on the grounds that it
\nis against religious teachings and because "it will encourage a
\nperson to sin".<\/p>\n
The President has been at the country's helm for three decades
\nand the whole world recognizes his economic development success.<\/p>\n
History has taught us that a long term in office and economic
\nsuccess are important in making a leader into a cult figure -- a
\nsituation that shows that the leader concerned has failed to
\neducate his people.<\/p>\n
The leader has also failed to prevent the people around him
\nfrom making use of his popularity for their own ends. They
\nengineer this kind of situation by abusing public ignorance. So
\nit is a kind of a structural stupidity.<\/p>\n
But the trend is not the monopoly of developing countries.
\nGermany under Hitler is one of the best examples. It needs an
\nextraordinarily great leader to win the fanatical support of an
\neducated mass. He should at the same time be a political genius,
\nand a monster.<\/p>\n
But once the people wake up to their nightmarish blunder they
\nwill turn the tables on the cult figure and the end will be
\ndisastrous. The world still remembers Nikita Khrushchev's 1956
\ndenunciation of Stalin, who was both a cult figure and a monster
\nto his people.<\/p>\n
In North Korea people thought the late Kim Il-sung was a
\ndemigod. And mainland Chinese, who practiced atheism, carried
\ncopies of Mao Zedong's red book everywhere they went, with a
\nfervor surpassing even religious followers with their holy books.<\/p>\n
Sukarno had to see himself stripped of his many titles from
\nthe revolution. And he saw Sukarnapura -- the capital of Irian
\nJaya which had been named after him -- renamed Jayapura.<\/p>\n
All the above people enjoyed the worship of their people, and
\ncould not resist sampling the forbidden fruits of despotism
\nwhich, finally, ends in calamity.<\/p>\n
Or if they claimed to believe in God, they let themselves be
\npushed into the wrong side of religion.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's conclusion about the relationship between cult
\nfigures and religious teachings as quoted above is accurate.<\/p>\n
However, we need to hear an explanation of Soeharto's
\nstatement in the near future so the nation is not left in
\nconfusion.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-horror-of-cult-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}