Amien Rais on fruits of reforms

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.