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."