Establishment of 'New Masyumi' queried
Establishment of 'New Masyumi' queried
By Wisnu Pramudya & Santi W.E. Soekanto
JAKARTA (JP): Anwar Haryono, the former leader of Masyumi, cold shouldered the establishment of a new organization bearing the name of the now-dissolved Islamic political party.
"That organization is not the same as Masyumi," he said, and refused to give further comments.
Only last week Haryono has said that people who wish to establish new organizations bearing the names of past or defunct organizations run the risk of confusing the public.
The respected leader of the Indonesian Council of Islamic Propagation (DDII) said the former members and supporters of Masyumi "are not worried by various parties' intentions of establish new organizations under any name".
"If there are people who wish to establish a new mass organization called Masyumi, without having any connection to the former institution, they may, however, simply confuse the public," according to Anwar.
The name of the once highly influential political party, Masyumi, stood for Majelis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia, whereas the one established yesterday by activists Ridwan Saidi and Agus Miftach is Majelis Syarikat Ummat Muslimin Indonesia (the Indonesian Moslem Congregation) whose acronym is also Masyumi.
The plans of Ridwan and Agus to establish "a new Masyumi", which some people see as a resurrection of the party, had already raised eyebrows among observers.
Political observer Deliar Noer told The Jakarta Post he doubted the new organization would have roots strong enough to survive. During the past three decades former leaders of the "old Masyumi" have not prepared any return to politics, he said.
Political observer Fachry Ali at the Indonesian Institute of Science agreed with Anwar, saying the new organization is "cut off" from both the leaders of the old organization, or from the people who used to support Masyumi.
Ramlan Mardjoned, former secretary of the late Prawoto Mangkusasmito, a leader of "old Masyumi", also said the move was unnecessary.
"There's no need to establish a new Masyumi, particularly if it's only a copy-cat reaction to the current mushrooming of new organizations bearing similarities to old, disbanded organizations," he said.
Ramlan said the activists of the "old" Masyumi have successfully established "continuous processes of transfer of values and of cadre building".
"These values are truth and justice," he said. Since DDII was established in 1968, its cadres have consistently adopted a critical stance toward the administration, suggesting corrections when deemed necessary.
Every individual who upholds these two values, he claimed, embodied the ideals of Masyumi. "In this sense, Masyumi is already here, and its members everywhere," he said.
Masyumi was a fusion of a number of Moslem political parties, including Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, in 1943. It was one of the main political forces in the early years of Indonesia's independence.
Masyumi started opposing President Sukarno in the late 1950s. Many of its leaders, who were unhappy with the growing power of the Indonesian Communist Party, joined the PRRI/Permesta rebellions led by local Army leaders in Sumatra and Sulawesi.
In August 1960, Sukarno gave it a deadline of 30 days to dissolve or be declared outlawed; he also sent some leaders to jail. Prawito Mangkusasmito chose the first option.
President Soeharto released the jailed Masyumi leaders when he took power in 1966, but they were barred from reviving the organization or from assuming influential positions in any political organization.
Another question which has emerged before the establishment of a new Masyumi was whether the government planned to rehabilitate Masyumi.
The question grew when the government announced it would present posthumously meritorious services awards on four Masyumi leaders earlier this month.
The recipients of the awards were former leaders of Masyumi: Jusuf Wibisono, Kasman Singodimedjo, Ki Bagus Hadikoesoemo and Prawoto Mangkusasmito.
The government, however, has denied any such plans.
Yusril Ihza Mahendra, an expert on constitutional law at the University of Indonesia, argued that the party was never formally banned because its leaders chose to dissolve before the 30 days deadline were up.
"Formally, Masyumi was never outlawed," Ramlan said. "There is no need for rehabilitation."
Although he claimed that there is no need for a new Masyumi, Ramlan said he did wish to see the emergence of a new political party to express the aspiration of "the ex-Masyumi mass".
"The current system, with two political parties and Golkar, is unsatisfactory," he said, "But the political climate is such that establishing a new party is not possible."