Antigraft campaign not selling in Muhammadiyah
ID Nugroho The Jakarta Post/Malang
The joining of forces by Indonesia's two largest Muslim organizations to boost the national drive against deep-rooted corruption may only be lip service, according to Muhammadiyah's intellectuals.
There was no resistance from within Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, but their joint movement to fight corruption has yet to make any progress, as many of its members stand accused of involvement in corruption.
The manner in which to combat corruption was a topic of discussions during the ongoing national congress of the 30- million strong Muhammadiyah in the city of Malang. The congress will conclude on Friday.
In his opening statement on Sunday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged Muhammadiyah to help strengthen morality of the nation in order to assist the antigraft campaign.
The President said that this predominantly Muslim country should be very embarrassed by the fact that it was still considered one of the most corrupt nations in the world.
Susilo did not blame Islam for the widespread corruption, but said some Muslim individuals were to blame for failing to embrace the spirit of Islamic teaching.
Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif and his NU counterpart Hasyim Muzadi have signed an agreement to work together to fight corruption taking place inside and outside the two organizations, in cooperation with the Partnership of Governance Reform, a non-governmental antigraft watchdog.
However, Muhammadiyah activists admitted that the joint antigraft movement remained ineffective, since there were no concrete programs designed to follow up on it.
"The movement to eradicate corruption is not that easy," deputy Muhammadiyah chairman Abdul Rosyad Sholeh admitted to The Jakarta Post on Monday, when asked about the reasons for the ineffectiveness thus far.
He explained that Muhammadiyah still had no clear concept on corruption eradication.
"The new leader, whoever is elected in the national congress, must place the fight against corruption at the top of the agenda for Muhammadiyah," Rosyad said.
Strong criticism against the NU-Muhammadiyah led anticorruption campaign was lodged by Muhammadiyah's young intellectuals.
"Muhammadiyah must clean itself up first before making efforts to help the national anticorruption movement," said Pradana Boy from the Muhammadiyah Young Intellectuals Network (JIMM).
He said Muhammadiyah should divulge rampant graft cases within its own institution, which runs thousands of schools, hospitals and charitable foundations across Indonesia.
"The indications of corruption are very clear," Boy added.
Another JIMM activist Zuly Qodir said corruption within Muhammadiyah began from a lack of transparency in its financial reports.
"The example is when Muhammadiyah does not report its budget transparently. That's also classified as corruption."
According to him, Muhammadiyah and NU launched the joint anticorruption drive because they received funds from donors to finance it.
"When the donors leave, the campaign will stop. It is evident that the antigraft campaign is merely discourse," he added.