Amien Rais: Succession is necessary
Amien Rais: Succession is necessary
By Santi W.E. Soekanto
JAKARTA (JP): For many people, discussions on succession of national leadership would not be complete without somehow mentioning Amien Rais.
The chairman of Indonesia's reformist Moslem organization, Muhammadiyah, first brought up the issue of leadership succession during a routine meeting in December 1993, only months after the nation re-elected President Soeharto to his sixth consecutive term.
"There is no other option, presidential succession must occur in 1998," according to Amien, holder of a doctoral degree on political science from the Chicago University, United States.
Amien delineated seven reasons why he thought Indonesia must have a new leader in 1998, among which was the adage that "power tends to corrupt." Besides, "this country is a republic, not a kingdom," he asserted.
The issue, a long-time political no-no, immediately snowballed, and sparked controversies in the briefly-dumbfounded public. Some people supported Amien's ideas and elaborated on them in various seminars. Others, including the chairman of the ruling Golkar, Harmoko, condemned the ideas as "premature" and even "unethical."
The second group believed that Amien's initiative to talk about succession was paramount to hustling President Soeharto to step down.
Still others suspiciously asked, "Who's behind Amien?", and strove to find proof that Amien, a well-known expert on Middle East affairs, might have vested interests when he brought up the subject.
The discussion reached its peak when President Soeharto commented last February to visiting Donald W. Wilson, the American author of two books on him and president of Pittsburgh State University, that he would not be "president for life."
Amien, who turned 50 last month, calmly faced the criticism and went on discussing his views in various seminars and interviews. He went so far as to call for a national debate on the presidential succession as early as possible, so that the public would have plenty of time to think over their options.
He believed that this move would help create a less rigid, more transparent, and more honest political situation.
"Leaving the question to the last week before the election is no use. By then, everything will have been settled," he said in a discussion with The Jakarta Post.
Despite the various reactions, and the rise and fall of the intensity of the discussion, the issue is now in the open and people speak about it from time to time. The ball has started rolling.
The People's Consultative Assembly reappointed Soeharto for a sixth consecutive five-year term in March 1993, a term that a number of analysts believe to be his last. The president will be a 77-year-old incumbent in 1998.
Amien tries to avoid any personal, emotional investment in the issue, declaring he would not be disappointed if no succession takes place in 1998.
"The Muhammadiyah believes that there are some important things at stake, so it speaks up, in the name of Allah," he said.
"It is only reminding the nation of the need to discuss succession now, while we still have plenty of time," he said. "Whatever the outcome of this suggestion is, alhamdulillah ala kullihal, we thank Allah for everything."
Obligation
Amien denied that he was looking out for his own interests. He said he spoke only because Muhammadiyah intellectuals routinely discuss matters of national importance, such as human rights protection, development strategies and legal affairs.
He said the organization tackles these issues because it has a moral obligation toward society; his paper only attracted major attention due to its sensitive nature.
However, the controversy could be taken as proof that the Muhammadiyah still has some political leverage in society, he said.
Amien, who is known for the well-ordered manner with which he expresses his ideas, seems very much at ease when speaking about the role that the Muhammadiyah plays in society, especially concerning politics.
He believed that the Muhammadiyah has been pursuing the right course. Striving to keep its distance from any political grouping, while remaining critical of the situation.
Founded by the respected ulema Kiai Haji Ahmad Dahlan in 1912, the Muhammadiyah vowed from the beginning to stay out of politics and avoid affiliation with any grouping.
Instead, it pledged to function as a means of enlightenment and to purify Islamic teachings, whose practice and rituals at the time were marred by superstition and polytheism.
Due to celebrate its 83th anniversary in November, the organization now boasts some 28 million members. It has been concentrating heavily on social and educational affairs, having established over 5,000 mosques, 16,000 schools, 114 universities and colleges, hundreds of orphanages, dozens of hospitals and hundreds of health clinics.
The organization has vowed never to "bow to, much less suck up to, any power holder." Neither will it adopt a confrontational stance toward the government," Amien said.
However, the chairman acknowledges that with such a broad- based network, the Muhammadiyah is indeed, politically, very alluring. For decades, it has repeatedly rejected attempts by various parties to bring it into the political arena.
"God willing, we'll remain independent, we'll maintain our freedom of action," Amien vowed.
Relations
Amien, who has column regularly in the Republika daily, is someone everybody can talk to, about virtually everything. In contrast with a number of other political observers, who invariably take negative views of almost any development, Amien gives a far from monotonous commentary about various issues.
Sometimes he comes out with sharp criticism, at other times he appears very cautious, treading on some issues with praiseworthy sensitivity.
He last came to nationwide attention following the revelation by Din Syamsuddin, a Muhammadiyah scholar and member of Golkar, of the alleged blasphemy by psychic Permadi Satrio Wiwoho. Amien was a speaker in a seminar at which Permadi made the reportedly offensive remarks about Islam, President Soeharto, Golkar and other parties.
Amien defended himself by saying that he was no longer present when Permadi spoke, but he also defended the soothsayer as well, saying the case was blown out of proportion. "It became big because it's been politicized," Amien said, risking the wrath of Moslems who took offense of Permadi.
Amien is also known for his down-to-earth manner and his efforts to present a moderate voice in many cases. Commenting about the perceived honeymoon in the relations between Indonesian Moslem communities with the government, Amien said he would rather avoid a paranoid view on it, as many scholars do.
"There are people who see the improvement as real and are grateful for it, there are those who are skeptical and remain critical, and there are people who are just suspiciously against it," Amien said. "I would prefer to be either in the first or second group."
One of the last ideas that Amien brought up was the terms "high politics" and "low politics". As did his suggestion about succession, the terms became a point of public discussion for days.
"People who are involved in high politics think about what attitudes and actions are ethical and crucial for the interests of the nation," he said. Low politics, on the other hand, involves people who compete only for the sake of position and power.
"The Muhammadiyah's decision to speak about succession is a form of high politics," he asserted.
The Muhammadiyah is currently preparing to hold its 43rd congress in July in Banda Aceh, Aceh. Some 2,500 leading members of the organization will attend the gathering, which is to be opened by President Soeharto.
There, Amien's chair will be up for the taking.
He said he is confident that the election will go relatively smoothly, but states readiness to deal with possible problems arising from disgruntled activists, who covet the position.
"I know the map of Muhammadiyah, from the eastern tip to the western tip of the archipelago. There should be no squabbles in the congress because we all still believe in the Muhammadiyah ideals," he said.
"However, I know that there are people whose ambitions were thwarted when I was unanimously appointed to replace the late Azhar Basyir last year," he said. "These people might just go and sell out to external parties and meddle in Muhammadiyah affairs."
The Kaaba
Today, Amien, an unassuming man, calmly goes about his daily activities as a staff lecturer at the School of Social and Political Sciences, Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, and at the Research Center for Policies Studies (PPSK).
The second of five children, Amien said his mother used to wish that he would become a kyai, a traditional Moslem scholar. As if to appease his mother's wish, Amien, who studied in the United States at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and Chicago University, later became a mubaligh, or Moslem propagator as well.
He stepped into the Muhammadiyah chair last year following the death of elected chairman, Azhar Basyir. Though he did not take any credit, he admitted that a new breed of leadership has started to take its place in the organization. Instead of being led by the traditional kyai, the Muhammadiyah now has more intellectuals and Ph.D holders than ever.
Amien's father, Syuhud Rais, and his mother, Sudalmiyah, introduced Amien and his siblings to a life marked by religiosity. "I was taught, from an early age, of the importance of saying prayers and reading the Koran," he said in the Tempo Who's Who.
Amien went to a Muhammadiyah school, from his kindergarten year to senior high school. He went on to the Gadjah Mada University, to study political sciences.
He later had the opportunity to study at the Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, writing his dissertation there in order to take the doctoral degree in the Chicago University. His thesis, entitled The Moslem Brotherhood in Egypt, its Rise, Demise and Resurgence, earned him the degree in 1981.
Amien married Kusnasriyati Sri Rahayu in 1969, and they had to wait ten years before their first child was born. "I was fed up with all of the medical procedures we had to undergo. My wife and I decided to go on pilgrimage to Mecca, and pray for children while praying in sight of the Kaaba, in the Great Mosque," he said. "We went home and found that my wife was already pregnant. It was a miracle."
They now has five children. Ahmad Hanafi, who is in the final year of the junior high school, Hanum Salsabila, Ahmad Mumtaz, Tasmin Fauzia and the youngest, Ahmad Baihaqi, who is now in the first grade.
Several years ago, his wife asked for his permission to open a food stall. Amien agreed and even promised to help tend the warung. Business flourished and his wife is now the manager of 12 workers.
"Even if it's small, it has, at least, become the source of livelihood for a dozen people," Amien said proudly. He was a little concern, however, over increasing food prices.
"Business has been declining a little lately," the scholar and columnist said. "I'm really concerned, because it shows just how vulnerable our people are, how low their buying capability is."