Al Azhar, 'president' of Free Riau

Al Azhar, 'president' of Free Riau

Puji Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau

This thickly bearded gentleman, who is also a chain smoker and a cultural activist, is always restless. Very often he feels angry with the central government, which, in his opinion, is arrogant. This arrogance is why freeing Riau from Jakarta's control often crosses his mind.

He nurtures an extreme idea of turning Riau into a sovereign territory, a "Free Riau" that has seceded from Indonesia; an even more extreme idea is to turn Riau into the tenth state of Malaysia.

Is the man really serious, or is it merely an ideal?

Al Azhar, more intimately addressed with the honorific meaning elder brother, Bang, as in Bang Al, is usually referred to as the "president of Free Riau", a nickname the central Jakarta abhors but which is used by the Riau people to address him fondly.

Jakarta does not want to see its control over Riau reduced, as it would mean less or, perhaps, no control over the province's natural resources like oil, forest products, coconut palms, tin and many others.

For the Riau people, on the other hand, Al is a symbol of change.

Ironically, the majority of Riau's population live in poverty, despite the richness of their province; some have even been forced to give up ancestral land inherited from their ancestors to survive.

Only God knows whether Al really wants to be a president; nevertheless, he has the makings of one. Smartly dressed, Al commands respect, and like a real president, he is difficult to reach -- not because of bureaucratic reasons, but because he frequently runs out of credit on his cell phone.

The beginnings of a movement toward a Free Riau were initiated in 1994, under an acacia tree fronting Riau University. About 20 students, assigned a research trip to Leiden University, had gathered and were discussing the future of Riau province.

Born 43 years ago in Pasirpangaraian, Al said the idea of establishing a Free Riau had first come to him in 1987. Although he went to Holland for his studies in 1989 -- after completing elementary school in Dalu, junior high school in Pasirpangaraian and graduating with a diploma from a Pekanbaru senior high school with a diploma -- the discussion on this subject continued intensively.

Aside from talking about establishing a Free Riau, the discussion also touched a variety of topics such as Riau's resistance to Batam, which, according to Al and his friends, was a "state within a state", and also caused the marginalization of the indigenous people on Batam island. All of these issues indicated how the central government ignored the local people.

"We think Indonesia has left the economic tradition which, in the 1920s, was known as economic dualism, namely socialism versus capitalism. Unfortunately, in the case of Riau, the socialist aspect is entirely negated. Batam has been turned into an authority, which means that the power-holder there must be an authoritarian," Al told The Jakarta Post in a meeting at his office in Bandar Serai, Pekanbaru.

He continued that, following the establishment of the Batam authority, the indigenous Batam people rights were wrested. "Local people suddenly became strangers on their own island, with the reasons given based entirely on capitalism."

Al said he was not alone, and was fighting for a Free Riau with other societal elements. Riau writers, for example, write stories about the idea; while community elders are also participating in the movement, setting up their own organization, the Communication Forum of Riau Community Elders (FKPMR).

"In this forum, we discuss and fight for the future of the Riau people, who are becoming increasingly impoverished," said Al.

Before "Free Riau" became the popular catchword it is today among the Riau people, Al and his friends openly voiced his protest against the central government, even when the repressive New Order regime was still in power.

In those dark days, Al and his buddies, though never jailed, were often blacklisted by state security apparatuses: "As our protests failed to bring about any changes, we have no other way but to try and fight for our own freedom," he said.

It was this situation that became the backdrop for the Riau People's Congress in 2000. The congress confirmed the wish of the majority of its people: a Free Riau.

Will this movement be like the Free Aceh Movement? Not necessarily, said Al. "We do not want to resort to an armed struggle to win our freedom. The cost will be too high and such a movement will certainly claim lives. We want our movement to be peaceful and sympathetic."

Implicitly, much dissatisfaction has accumulated behind the movement, especially regarding the redistribution of the province's assets.

Al Azhar, an indigenous son of Riau, nurtures many ambitions, including wanting to see a prosperous Riau. Personally, however, he loves art: literature, drama and classical music.

Is he really ready to become the president of Riau if the province becomes independent some day?

"A day after being sworn in as president, I will issue a decree to confirm my resignation. For me, to be an artist is nobler than being the president of a Free Riau."

He appears to have no presidential ambitions at all.