Hasan Basri re-elected as MUI chairman

JAKARTA (JP): Moslem scholar Hasan Basri was re-elected for a third consecutive five-year term to the helm of the influential Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) last night.

A electoral team of seven, chaired by Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher, voted unanimously for Hasan Basri, a man who is widely praised for his skills in acting as a "bridge" between the government and the Moslem community.

Representatives of the 27 provincial branches of the MUI, which the government established 20 years ago, had earlier told Tarmizi in a preliminary meeting in the congress of MUI that they "insisted" that Hasan be re-elected.

The electoral team, consisting of Tarmizi, Hasan Basri, outgoing secretary Prodjokoesoemo and four other ulemas convened for about an hour and came up with the list of people who will either advise or manage the council.

The leaders of almost all major Moslem organizations in the country were appointed members of the MUI plenary board, including Amien Rais of the 28-million-strong Muhammadiyah and Chalid Mawardi of the Indonesian Propagation Council (MDI). The name of Abdurrahman Wahid, the controversial chairman of the executive board of the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), was conspicuously absent from the list.

However, Ilyas Ruchiyat, chairman of the law-making body of NU, was elected as one of eight vice chairmen of the executive board to support Hasan Basri.

The other seven vice chairmen and chairwomen are intellectuals Quraish Shihab, Ali Yafie, and Zakiah Daradjat; ulemas Ibrahim Hossen and Prodjokoesoemo; politician Ismael Hasan; and bureaucrat Amidhan.

Another important position in the MUI is that of secretary, a post that went to Nazri Adlani, who replaced Prodjokoesoemo. The vice secretaries are young scholar Ichwan Syam, bureaucrat Jimly Asshidique and politician Din Syamsuddin.

The treasurer of the council is Basyah Abdullah and his deputy is Muhammad Syuraich.

Tarmizi, in his speech after the election, praised the new leadership of the council as being made up of people with various skills and well-balanced, as it consists of both the older and the younger generations, as well as women scholars.

"We have every element here," Tarmizi said. "We have the elderly as well as younger members to show that there is a process of regeneration taking place in the council."

The council's plenary board also consisted of some surprises, including the controversial Muhammadiyah leader Lukman Harun and Golkar leader Abdul Ghafur.

Tarmizi however denied that there were any surprises or that the government had had a crucial say in the elections.

"Nobody ordered us to elect this or that person...We chose those only who have the character of ulemas because this is an organization of ulemas," he said.

He denied that the government had interfered in the elections or that the council was not independent. "If you think that the independence of ulemas is shown by standing opposite the government, then you're mistaken," he told reporters. "Ulemas and umara (power holders or the government) are partners."

The fourth day of the congress was filled with meetings of commissions in charge of various fields, including organizational matters.

At a final plenary session yesterday, the congress announced a number of religious edicts (fatwa) which some people have said are rather weak because they do not "order" but merely "call on" the government and the public to do or not do certain things.

Regarding what the congress described as violations of oaths of office by government officials, for instance, the council "calls on Moslems to be loyal to the oaths that they have taken in accordance with Islamic laws".

The five-day congress winds up this morning with a closing ceremony to be presided over by Vice President Try Sutrisno. (swe)