Amien Rais' maneuvers

Amien Rais' maneuvers

Amien Rais has been well-reputed for his political maneuvers since 1998. The former chairman of Muhammadiyah was the star of the reform movement to topple the New Order regime. Later, he was elected leader of the National Mandate Party (PAN), which enjoyed its days among the big five in the 1999 general election. This brought him to the top post in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

When president BJ Habibie was about to step down, Amien "promoted" Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid to succeed Habibie. Later, Gus Dur was forced to quit, also because of Amien's maneuver.

Amien has very strong self-confidence that he will some day become the country's president. His party chartered a special jet plane for his campaigns for the 2004 election across the archipelago. He is still outspoken, despite his seeming inconsistencies. But all such shortcomings were apparently excused during his campaigns.

The former lecturer of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Amien attempted another maneuver on Tuesday, after his party failed to garner a respectable number of votes in the legislative election. He met with former president Gus Dur and the leader of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Hidayat Nur Wahid. The result of the meeting was the establishment of what has been termed Poros Penyelamatan Bangsa (the Axis for the Nation's Safety). The main agenda of the axis is the change in national leadership.

The establishment of the axis is a democratic process. Although, unfortunately, it could imply that the country is in a very chaotic situation.

Frankly, Amien is one of the national figures who has the opportunity to lead the country. Given the fact that his party failed in the April 5 election, he should change his leadership style, instead of seeking another political vehicle, such as the recently established axis.

-- Koran Tempo, Jakarta