Amien becomes professor, plans to quit campus

Amien becomes professor, plans to quit campus

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the National Mandate Party Amien
Rais stated on Saturday he would resign from Gadjah Mada
University where he teaches, just as he acquired the long coveted
position of professor.

However, he said he hoped to return to teaching after he
retires from politics.

A new rule on civil servants has led many to choose between
their jobs and political parties.

Amien, a scholar in Middle East affairs, previously said he
would try to take a leave of absence from the campus.

In his speech, Amien, who teaches at the university's School
of Social and Political Sciences, said "absolute powerlessness"
was just as dangerous as "absolute power".

While a consequence of absolute power is oppression and
exploitation, a consequence of powerlessness can be the
destruction of the establishment, "with extraordinary
ramifications", he said.

In his address titled "Power, Powerlessness and
Democratization of Power", Amien said leaders in a state too
dependent on power would monopolize the truth, in which justice
could never be realized. Those without power had no choice but to
"loot, destroy and run amok", said Amien, who will turn 54 soon.

"The empowerment for the powerless takes the form of
destructive actions," he said, citing recent unrest.

Powerlessness, he said, would eventually grow where parties
who repeatedly tried to take part in decision-making repeatedly
failed. This, he said, raised concerns of apathy ahead of the
coming elections because of the powerlessness widely experienced
over three decades.

Amien acknowledged on Friday there were some who protested his
professorship, because his activities had led him to rare
appearances on campus. Luckily, he said, Minister of Education
and Culture Juwono Sudarsono said his frequent "lectures" in
several cities should be taken into account.

Amien told The Jakarta Post that some of his supporters said
it would be "quite irresponsible and unethical" if he left
politics now to teach full-time. Amien has been recognized as one
of the leading figures in the reform movement.

Amien said his decision to leave the state university would
lead to a loss of income. However, Amien said the income of his
wife, Kusnasriyati Sri Rahayu, from their restaurant and a small
company producing educational toys, apart from his compensation
from public lectures, would compensate for the loss of his job at
the university.

The National Mandate Party (PAN), while enjoying large support
from a popular, inclusive platform apart from the leadership of
Amien himself, has internal rifts among its executives.

Amien claims that "95 percent" of the conflicts are well
handled. Only a few are "unnatural", he said. "For instance,
people of a certain ethnic group refuse to join PAN if the
leadership is of another ethnic group."

Cited as one of the reasons for rifts in PAN is that members
of the Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, which Amien used to
chair, try to dominate the party. (swa)