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."