ICMI calls for total political reform

ICMI calls for total political reform

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian Moslem
Intellectuals (ICMI) broke ranks with the government yesterday by
calling for total political reform to lift the nation out of the
economic crisis.

ICMI's executive board described the government's latest
reform proposal, given by President Soeharto to leaders of the
political parties and the House of Representatives last week, as
"vague, too little and too late".

"It does not reflect any sign of a pro-reform spirit," ICMI
said in a statement issued after a meeting of its leaders.

The association is technically still chaired by B.J. Habibie,
who was elected vice president in March, but state protocol
forced him to delegate the job to Achmad Tirtosudiro until the
next ICMI election in 2000.

Achmad told a media briefing that ICMI fully supported the
demands for an extraordinary session of the People's Consultative
Assembly, as echoed in various recent student protests, to push
for reform through peaceful means.

House of Representatives Speaker Harmoko had rejected the
demand, saying President Soeharto should be given the chance to
carry out the new mandate given him by the Assembly in March.

"ICMI reiterated its commitment to push for and establish,
together with the people, a total reform process as a way out of
the crisis," the statement said.

"What began as a monetary crisis has since turned into
economic and political crises. But all these crises are rooted in
a crisis of moral character, or the failure of those who should
have been role models in society."

While noting a solidarity among the people in this time of
crisis, ICMI denounced "efforts from the top to make a show of
charity, which would not solve the problem at all and would even
sow greater public cynicism."

ICMI leaders noted that protests led by students in hundreds
of campuses have widened and were becoming more radical.

"The lack of confidence in the government is the source of
these protests. They have widened as more and more people are
feeling the burden of increasing prices of basic commodities.

"The meeting expressed concern that these protests could lead
to various forms of violence.

"And if this violence threatens peaceful protesters, coming on
top of recent acts of intimidation and kidnapings, the bridge of
political communication to work out solutions together will
become even more difficult to build," the statement said.

ICMI said it was opposed to any form of violence, especially
if carried out by the state whose task was to protect and serve
the public already feeling restless by the crisis.

While acknowledging that the protests have made economic
recovery more difficult, ICMI said the protests were caused by
"some things much deeper which the public has felt for years".

It said practices of corruption, collusion and nepotism in
every layer of the decision-making process, often taken with the
arrogance of power, had affected the lives of the people.

"It is wrong to always lay the blame for the crisis on outside
forces," it added.

The statement said the solution to the crisis should start by
finding a political solution through measures reflecting
government commitment. The reform should not involve people who,
in the public eye, have been part of the corruption, collusion
and nepotistic networks.

A national leader should meet the criteria laid down by the
Prophet Muhammad, ICMI said. "One shouldn't lie when talking, one
should fulfill one's promise, one should not betray a trust and
one should not cheat." (imn/emb)