Ginandjar urges ICMI not to become elitist group
Ginandjar urges ICMI not to become elitist group
JAKARTA (JP): A senior official acknowledges that it is not
possible for the influential Association of Indonesian Moslem
Intellectuals (ICMI) to entirely avoid "political reactions" from
the public.
State Minister of National Development Planning Ginandjar
Kartasasmita said in an address to some 1,200 leading members of
ICMI yesterday that "it is not possible for an organization as
big as ICMI not to have political impacts, even though it's not a
political organization".
"It's natural if it also invites political reactions", he
said.
Ginandjar was explaining why the public often has at least two
different reactions to the roles of ICMI in society. There are
groups who clearly support and need the organization, and there
are those who view it with apprehension, he said.
"The second stance may have been caused by prejudice and
apprehension that...ICMI would run counter to nationalism," he
said. The sentiment, however, would soon dissipate if ICMI and
its members prove the public's feeling wrong, he said.
"Instead, the public would feel peaceful and be calm, if
people are convinced that ICMI is here to strengthen our national
life," he said.
ICMI is holding its three-day congress amid various public
criticism, including that it has become a political vehicle for
certain interest groups, that it is elitist as well as
"sectarian". ICMI leaders have repeatedly denied the criticism,
saying that ICMI is apolitical, although it allows members to be
politically active in their individual capacity.
Ginandjar called on the organization, which will elect a new
executive board tomorrow, never to develop into "an organization
of the elite and act elitist that grows apart from the reality of
the (Moslem) community's life".
Instead, ICMI should become "a drive for reforms, which is
rooted in the people and is able to make the people's lives
dynamic", he said.
In other parts of his address, Ginandjar spoke at length about
the various challenges Indonesia will face in the near future.
"As the quality of our human resources improves, the quality of
democracy will also improve. This condition is the result of
improvement in the quality of the existing social and political
institutions," he said.
In addition, there will be a more transparent social and
political life, he said. As a consequence, the people will be
more persistent in their demand for justice, he said.
"The main route (for the nation) to meet the demand is through
laws. There's no advance and modern country which does not rely
on laws, or which only stands on the basis of power," he said.
"It's laws which will protect the community and every
citizen," he said.
The congress today will hear from Minister of Home Affairs
Moch. Yogie S.M., Commander of the Armed Forces Gen. Feisal
Tanjung, as well as hold plenary sessions to review the account
of duty from the outgoing executive board.
The participants will be divided into two commissions, one in
charge of deliberating programs for the 1995 to 2000 period, and
the other for deliberating organizational matters. (swe)