ICMI has joined in
Wednesday's statement by the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) is surprisingly straightforward in its call for immediate reform although many might take it as a better-late-than-never step.
It is true that two other social organizations, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, and numerous academics have previously made similar calls during the nationwide student-led proreform movement. But ICMI's stance is different. It touches more sensitive issues which the ruling elite have thus far roundly opposed.
These include support for the demands for an extraordinary session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR); branding 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" and criticizing the ruling elite's mentality as being the real root of all the current crises.
A meeting of the MPR, the country's highest constitutional body which has met only once every five years during the last three decades, can lead to the revocation of President Soeharto's mandate or at least the additional powers provided to him in March to deal with emergency situations. The powers give him a free hand to take whatever steps he deems necessary to safeguard the nation and national development, if and when they are threatened. The last extraordinary MPR meeting took place in 1966 which pushed president Sukarno to step down.
Wednesday's statement shows that ICMI, which was once said to be an organization that toed the government line, is still a group that has its ear to the ground to listen the very heartbeat of the nation.
ICMI did suffer in its failure to be strongly represented in the present cabinet, a privilege it enjoyed five years ago, when the President formed it in March.
Meanwhile many political observers have watched more recent developments as not wholly pleasing to the organization. Vice President B.J. Habibie, ICMI's chairman, despite his No.2 position, is not the most influential figure in the government, because the biggest clout is wielded by Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, the President's oldest daughter. The reality has made many ICMI officials realize that the process of the cabinet formation was merely that ICMI's locomotive was brought inside while the cars were left in the cold.
However, besides these opinions, ICMI's joining the people in calling for total reform has a strong influence on the country's movement toward multidimensional change. It should also convince any waverers among publicly aware citizens that the movement for reform has reached a point of no return since so many people have jumped on to the bandwagon.
This weight is not to be found in the recent statement by the leaders of the House of Representatives, who said they too support the idea of reform. The populace, quite properly, sees their stance as "Johnny come latest."
The people who are now advocating reform believe that change should take place now or it will be too late to make any difference. Many also understand that covert proposals for reform, as announced by the government last week, will act as a symptomatic painkiller but will not heal the national disease.
ICMI, by its statement, clearly hopes that the people in the ruling elite will be wise enough to read the signs of the time correctly and not be too late to climb aboard the reform bandwagon.