Amien Rais replaced as Muhammadiyah chairman

Amien Rais replaced as Muhammadiyah chairman

JAKARTA (JP): Amien Rais was replaced yesterday as chairman of
Muhammadiyah, an influential Moslem organization, because of his
impending chairmanship of a new political party.

He will be replaced by deputy chairman Syafi'i Ma'arif, who
will serve as acting chairman till the next leadership meeting.

Secretary of Muhammadiyah's central board, A Watik Pratiknya,
said here yesterday that the decision was taken in accordance
with the organization's statutes.

"An article in the Muhammadiyah statutes specifically forbids
dual posts in political or social organizations which have
similar activities," he said.

Amien is set to lead the much anticipated National Mandate
Party, which will be formally declared here today.

The party, which will include economist Faisal Basri, senior
journalist Goenawan Mohamad and political scientist Mochtar
Pabottingi, is expected to be a potent new force in the political
arena.

In a television interview on SCTV last night, Amien said the
decision was fully in line with the organization's statutes; that
there were "important ethical considerations" that have to be
taken into account if he were to remain chairman of both
Muhammadiyah and a political party.

When asked why he decided to relinquish his post at the 28-
million strong Moslem organization, Amien said his colleagues,
who together pushed forward the reform ideas, urged him "to
persevere in driving the reform carriage forward".

Watik said the decision to select Syafi'i as acting chairman
came after the executive board agreed to choose between the two
deputies.

"Pak Syafi'i and Pak Sutrisno Muhdam (the two deputy chairmen)
met and concluded that Pak Syafi'i would assume the caretaker
post," Watik said, reported Antara yesterday.

Watik said no date has been set for the next leadership
meeting to choose a new chairman.

"There are one or two technical difficulties we have to work
out since the last leadership meeting was held recently in July,"
he said.

In a press statement issued yesterday, Muhammadiyah stressed
that there were no formal alliances between it and other
political parties, including the National Mandate Party.

To further assert its independence, Muhammadiyah forbids the
use of its facilities for the activities of any political party.
(mds)