Govt encourages sectarian politics
Govt encourages sectarian politics
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The way the government has been treating the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) as one of its political support bases has contributed to the re-emergence of sectarian politics in Indonesia, a political observer said yesterday.
Fachry Ali of the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) pinned the birth of ICMI in 1990 as the starting point of the return of sectarian politics in the country.
"ICMI has triggered cultural rivalry and prompted sectarian politics which were once popular," Fachry said when addressing a Ramadhan gathering at the Gadjah Mada University here on Monday.
The discussion titled Analysis on contemporary sectarian politics in Indonesia also featured Mochtar Pabottingi of LIPI and Sugiyono, a Gadjah Mada staff lecturer.
Fachry said the government's decision to "adopt" ICMI has inevitably provoked emotional reactions from other groups in society, who in turn set up their own sectarian organizations.
The establishment of the Association of the Intellectuals for Pancasila Development (PCPP), Masyumi and the Indonesian National Unity (PNI), all founded last year, are cases in point, he said.
ICMI is chaired by B.J. Habibie, the state minister of research and technology, and a close confidante of President Soeharto. ICMI has appointed Soeharto as chairman of its board of patrons and numerous cabinet ministers have been given senior positions in its board of executives.
Under Habibie, ICMI has grown in political influence as is apparent with its strong representation in the cabinet, in the House of Representatives and in Golkar, the dominant political group.
Fachry said the 1990s are witnessing the emergence of santri, (devout Moslems) in the power center, so that they are no longer considered marginal groups, he said.
"Because of their enormous number and their similarities to the priyayi groups in the past, santri has a lot of services and views to offer to the bureaucracy," Fachry said.
Priyayi is the elite Javanese class who played a key role in ancient and modern politics in Indonesia.
ICMI's easy access to the bureaucracy has worried people outside the organization. They try to balance this by grouping themselves, Fachry said.
"The sprouting sectarian organizations show how cultural differences easily turned into political rivalry," he added.
Mochtar Pabottingi said, however, that politics anywhere in the world is motivated by sectarian interests, such as ethnicity and religion.
"But we should be wary of sectarian politics which can develop such that it threatens national unity," he said.
He said ICMI does not threaten national unity because the grassroots' political participation is tightly controlled by the government.
"Besides, all political and mass organizations have agreed to make the state ideology Pancasila their sole principle," Mochtar said. (har/pan)