Amien Rais on fruits of reforms
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The sky was bright when I arrived at the house in Taman Gandaria, South Jakarta, on Tuesday morning. Everything was peaceful. Only a singing turtledove could be heard.
The situation was completely different from that of seven years ago this May. At that time, Jakarta was in chaos following the shooting of four Trisakti University students on their West Jakarta campus.
Those shootings took place as Soeharto, who had maintained an iron grip on power for more than 30 years, was desperately trying to hang onto office.
Today, seven years after the reform movement was born, there have been some political changes. Soeharto is no longer president. He is now an old man whose ill health is the only thing keeping him from facing a corruption trial.
However, sitting on the veranda of the house thinking about what happened seven years ago, it occurred to me that the political changes were not very substantial for all the sacrifices that had been made.
Poor law enforcement and corruption remain in the headlines of the country's newspapers. The crime rate is rising and poor people continue to be evicted from their land to make way for public and private projects.
My reflections ended when Amien Rais, who was on the front line of the reform movement, invited me into his home.
Wearing a brown batik shirt and dark pants, Amien looked fresh and relaxed. Before beginning the interview, Amien quietly said, "Bismillahirrahmanirrahim" (In the name of God, most merciful, most compassionate).
Amien, a former speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of the current government in fighting corruption and improving law enforcement.
He said if the government did not seriously deal with these issues, the country could give up all the gains of the reform movement.
"Frankly speaking, I am worried the nation will lose the momentum of reform. The current administration must not repeat the mistakes of past administrations. After being in office for seven months, it is time for SBY to start taking real action ...."
Amien was referring to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who won the country's first direct presidential election in 2004.
Amien and running mate Siswono Yudhohusodo failed to make it out of the first round of the presidential election.
However, he does not regret his defeat. For him, his candidacy in last year's presidential election was an endeavor to complete his mission of reform.
"I will return to my habitat. I will return to campus to teach," he said shortly after the election.
Until he began to devote all of his time, energy and thoughts to the reform movement in 1998, Amien was like other academics: he gave lectures, attended seminars and so on.
Apart from being a lecturer, Amien was also active in organizations like Muhammadiyah, the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals and the Center for Strategic and Policy Studies.
His strategic position as chairman of the Muslim organization Muhammadiyah made Amien even more popular. He often criticized Soeharto in speeches before thousands of people and took part in rallies.
As soon as Soeharto stepped down on May 21, 1998, in the face of massive demonstrations, Amien and some colleagues set up the National Mandate Party (PAN), which Amien represented as Assembly speaker from 1999 to 2004.
While he has relinquished his position as Assembly speaker and as leader of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Amien continues monitoring the performance of the government.
According to Amien, the reform movement resulted in a political breakthrough that effectively ended the authoritarian rule of Soeharto's New Order regime, which nurtured and lived on corruption, cronyism and nepotism. That regime did not heed the aspirations of the people and enriched the political powerholders, their families and cronies.
The downfall of Soeharto was the starting point for the development of democracy and egalitarian principles in the nation.
"We thank God that we are now respected as the world's third largest democracy after India and the United States," Amien said.
He said the lack of violence during the 2004 elections demonstrated the maturity of the nation.
Aside from the successful elections, the nation has also carried out some items of the reform agenda, including amending the Constitution (done through the Amien-led Assembly), junking the Indonesian Military (TNI)'s "dual function" (defense and political roles), and developing press freedom.
The end of the TNI's dual function means all members of the House of Representatives are now elected in a general election. There are no more appointed legislators representing the military and the police.
The development of press freedom has given the media in the country the ability to report on stories without excessive control from the government.
Furthermore, the adoption of regional autonomy has encouraged local people to become more involved in the decision-making process.
However, despite all of the achievements of the past seven years, Indonesia still faces the chronic problems of rampant corruption and poor law enforcement.
"One can come to the conclusion that there is no real action to eradicate corruption. All of the promises about corruption eradication are just empty slogans," Amien said.
He expressed doubt about the investigations into different corruption scandals, including one at the General Elections Commission and another at Bank Mandiri. He predicted the investigations would quietly end without accomplishing anything.
Amien also regretted that the successful replacement of national leaders through elections was not followed by a change in the attitudes of the leaders. He said what was happening today was just the old practices in a new wrapping.
"There has been a compromise between the status quo and the reform movement. If serious investigations into alleged corruption were conducted, the involvement of state officers would be disclosed. I hope I am wrong."
Asked if he had any influence via the two ministers from PAN -- Hatta Radjasa (minister of transportation) and Bambang Sudibyo (minister of national education), Amien said he had no hand in government.
"I have no hand in the government. I only have a remote hand because I am neither an Assembly speaker nor a party leader. I simply function as a moral force."
In his position as a moral force, Amien promised that he would always encourage his party to stay true to the reform agenda.
A man experienced in self-restraint (Amien regularly fasts every other day), his biggest concern is the seriousness, or lack thereof, of the government in fighting corruption.
He criticized the government's recent decision to establish a new Coordinating Team for Corruption Eradication (Tipikor) at a time when the existing Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has been "showing its muscle".
The KPK was established by the government and the House of Representatives according to the anticorruption law, while Tipikor was established based on a presidential decree.
"I am worried the discourse on corruption eradication is only cosmetic. We already have various anticorruption committees, but anytime the committee starts to do its job the government suddenly creates another committee. The KPK has started to work and the government sets up Tipikor -- consisting of figures from various state offices. I do not know why. It will only weaken the KPK. If a committee consists of people from different state institutions, trust me it will not be effective. For me, it is a political mystery."
Aside from expressing disappointment over the performance of the government, Amien also regretted the friction in some political parties -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Reform Star Party (PBR).
According to Amien, political leaders must learn the philosophy of the sun: start at sunrise, reach the peak at midday, and rest at sunset.
"Political leaders must give the younger generation the opportunity to lead, while at the same time the younger generation must be patient. Democracy in a party or a country must experience a rotation of leadership. If there is no rotation, the party is not healthy," said Amien, who received a doctoral from the University of Chicago in the U.S.
Although pleased with the implementation of regional autonomy, the new system, he said, had brought "the virus of money politics and corruption" to the regions.
He emphasized that there was only one way to eradicate corruption: the government must show its determination to pursue the legal process against those involved in big and serious crimes, such as the abuse of Bank Indonesia liquidity funds, the alleged corruption at the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, illegal logging and drug trafficking.
Amien has returned to the campus of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. He gives lectures and serves as a thesis adviser. He also speaks at seminars here and abroad.
He is scheduled this month to speak at a seminar in Kuala Lumpur along with Malaysia's former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim on the problems of developing countries. He will also speak at a seminar in Washington D.C. on relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world.
"I cannot attend all the seminars, it depends on my mood," said Amien, who was born in the Central Java city of Solo on April 26, 1944.
To stay fit, Amien often jogs in the morning and plays table tennis with his wife Kusnasriyati Sri Rahayu, whom he married in 1969.
"There are no more hectic days for me. I enjoy it very much," he said.
Amien also thanks God his five children are content living simple lives -- one of the things he has been fighting for. Living a simple life, he said, people are less tempted by corruption.