Gus Dur warns dissent affecting political elite
Gus Dur warns dissent affecting political elite
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Political analysts believe that progressive elements in society may soon have the opportunity to augment their role on the political stage as increasing dissension and fragmentation afflicts the nation's political elite.
The chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization, Abdurrahman Wahid, believes that dissension is splitting the political elite.
"Such fragmentation is not impossible on the political stage where things are motivated by personal interests," he said .
Speaking at a political seminar which lasted till the small hours of Tuesday at the University of Gadjah Mada, Abdurrahman, popularly called Gus Dur, said such clashes will come to the fore more often as the country experiences more crises.
He points to a looming financial crisis as the spark which could dilute cohesion even further among the various factions of the elite.
Agreeing with Abdurrahman, political scientist Mohammad Hikam went further, suggesting that such a situation might prove advantageous to those pro-democratic elements in society who are at present only allowed to play a marginal role on the political stage.
Hikam said those who could benefit from the fragmentation of the elite include the two opposition parties, the Indonesian Democratic Party and the United Development Party, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, the National Human Rights Commission, and the NU itself.
Other potential elements noted by the researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) is the newly-launched Independent Election Monitoring Committee, and the unrecognized Solidarity Labor Union, along with other intellectual and student groups.
Hikam said that despite being very reluctant, the state is forced to accept the fact that it has to give more room to these societal groups.
However on the other side Hikam also lamented the absence of unity among these groups which are thus still very far from becoming a force which can radically oppose the authority of the state.
He added there was still no common platform for these democratic elements to work together and said there was also a lack of leadership in civil society.
Speaking on the existence of intellectual groups, Abdurrahman warned that many scholars are being employed as mere legitimizers of the status quo.
He described these intellectuals as "artisans" whose reputation and education were being prostituted to provide conceptualizations to justify a specific means.
While refusing to name any, Abdurrahman warned against these "artisan" intellectuals whose "made-to-order" theories were clogging up the national political debate.
"These intellectuals are experiencing their heyday. They're getting orders left and right," he said adding that their purpose was merely to either justify a status quo or attack someone else's opponent. (har/mds)