Gus Dur proposes new political system
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Presidential aspirant Abdurrahman Wahid, or Gus Dur as he is familiarly known, proposed a new political system on Thursday that he said would guarantee the rights of minority groups.
Spelling out his political platform, Gus Dur, who was removed from the presidency in July 2001, ostensibly for incompetence, stressed that the existing political system did not offer hope to minority groups.
According to Gus Dur, amendments to the 1945 Constitution had made Indonesia a completely liberal, Western-style state.
"My proposal is that there has to be a new political system in which the liberal and the old systems are combined," he said during the launching of a book titled Setahun Bersama Gus Dur, Kenangan Menjadi Menteri di Saat Sulit (A Year with Gus Dur, Memories of a Minister in Difficult Times), written by former minister of defense Mahfud M.D.
This new political system is one of four political platforms that Gus Dur will try to sell to the electorate in the 2004 election, when the country is expected to hold its first ever direct presidential election.
The other three platforms deal with economic orientation, the national education system, and the country's ethical system.
A new economic system, according to Gus Dur, is necessary given the fact that since 1945 the country's economy had been dominated by big companies.
"Small businesses have only been exploited to get loans from state-owned banks through the bapak-anak angkat (foster father) mechanism. But the loans never really reached the small firms," Gus Dur said without elaborating.
"Why do we need to do something about our national education system? Because we have been slaves to certificates, while peoples' capabilities are neglected," said Gus Dur, adding that the country's educational system had also become money-oriented.
Gus Dur proposed the adoption of a community-based educational system, a system once applied in the country by Catholic priest Y.B. Mangunwijaya, since deceased.
The fourth political platform that Gus Dur offered was a new ethical system. He said this was essential as the entire value system in the country had become irreparably damaged. There were many clever and educated people, but at the same time many of them had also committed various crimes.
"You may well ask why I do not talk about the national legal system. My answer is simple. The existing system is already good, and so are the laws and regulations. But their application is not. That's why we should not jettison the existing system," he said.
According to Gus Dur, his four platforms, together with the existing legal system, would be sufficient to lead Indonesia to a better future.
He also said that if he were in charge, he would ensure that the country would earn national revenues of some US$44 billion a year, with the maritime sector contributing up to $30 billion, mining $12 billion, and forestry $2 billion.
"You can just imagine what we could do with this level of revenue, can't you?" Gus Dur asked.
"I can see in the future that Indonesia will become a great economic power and that within 15 years we will be able to catch up with the U.S. with a per capita income of US$23,000," Gus Dur said.
He also stressed that he had been instructed by four influential kyai (Muslim preachers) to run for the presidency in the upcoming election.
"I've never forced myself (to run for the presidency). However, if I'm instructed by four kyai who represent all the kyai, then I must follow their command," Gus Dur said.
He was referring to a recent meeting held in Surabaya, East Java, in which four influential Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) kyai reportedly told Mahfud MD and Alwi Shihab of the National Awakening Party (PKB) that they had ordered Gus Dur to run for the presidency in 2004.
The four kyai were Muhaimin Nadar of Parakan in Central Java, Abdurrahman Chudori of Tegalrejo in Magelang, Central Java, Mohammad Subadar of Pasuruan in East Java and Abdullah Fakih of Langitan in East Java.