Amien Rais asks: What about economic democracy?

Amien Rais asks: What about economic democracy?

JAKARTA (JP): Leading Moslem scholar Amien Rais lashed out at
campaigners for democracy recently for giving undue emphasis to
civil and political rights at the expense of people's economic
rights.

Speaking at a seminar held by the Indonesian Association of
Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) yesterday, Amien acknowledged that
even the campaign for political democratization still faces many
obstacles.

"Indonesian people have yet to enjoy their political rights
because there are too many restrictions, such as on freedom of
speech and expression, and on the press," he said.

"Economic democratization, however, fares even worse," Amien,
who is member of ICMI and leader of the 28 million-strong
Muhammadiyah organization, told over 100 participants.

Discrepancies are rampant, and "strategic keys to national
economics" are controlled by a privileged few, he pointed out.

The recent declaration by a handful of business leaders in
Jimbaran, Bali, about their intention to help reduce the social
gap, he said, was proof of "excessive arrogance".

"Not only is it excessive arrogance, it also shows that
practices of monopoly, oligopoly still represent a big block
toward the achievement of economic democratization," Amien said.

"Most of our intellectuals believe that democratization covers
only the political and civil rights of the people," he said.
"Human rights and democracy campaigners also tend to eliminate
social and economic basic rights from their discourse."

He blamed the neglect on, among other things, the domination
of Western countries' concepts of democratization. "When the
Western middle class struggled for democracy from the feudal
power holders, they demanded political and civil rights rather
than social and economic rights, which they already solidly
built," he said.

It does not help that many Western bodies hold the purse
strings of the Indonesian campaigners for democracy, especially
the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) activists, he added.

Indonesia, Amien said, needs to struggle for both political
and social-economic democratization. "Freedom from hunger, from
hopelessness, from ignorance, from disease are more important, at
least as important as political and civil rights," he said.

The two-day discussion entitled ICMI and the face of Indonesia
in the future was held as part of a series of activities to greet
the organization's second congress in December. Besides Amien,
yesterday's speakers included noted military observer Sayidiman
Suryohadiprojo, educator Conny Semiawan and former student
activist Eki Syachrudin.

Amien said ICMI "has the moral obligation to help establish
economic democracy", as also mandated by Islam.

The organization, established in 1990, is chaired by State
Minister for Research and Technology B.J. Habibie and manned by
prominent figures such as Minister of Education Wardiman
Djojonegoro. It now has over 300 branches both across Indonesia
and abroad.

Amien said ICMI should strive to "change the orientation and
the programs of the superstructure so that the policies taken are
more people-oriented".

"Don't let the Indonesian government become an administration
which cares more about the shoes of wealthy people than about the
livelihood of the poor people".

"The intellectual and political struggle of ICMI should aim
for an Indonesia which is independent of various foreign traps,
including the debt trap," he said. "This is easier said than
done, but it's a challenge for ICMI."

In addition, ICMI should contribute to the social and economic
empowerment of the lower layers of society.

"These layers need moral support and concrete actions in order
to help the people gradually rise from the apathy and fatalism
that have widely affected them," Amien said.

Today, the discussion will feature, among others, Moslem
scholar Nurcholish Madjid and senior journalist Jacob Oetama.
(swe)