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