ICMI 'not to seek' cabinet positions

ICMI 'not to seek' cabinet positions

SURABAYA (JP): An executive of the Association of Indonesian
Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) said here Saturday the organization,
known for its political clout, would not seek any cabinet
positions.

Secretary-general Adi Sasono said the organization would not
recommend any members for the next cabinet, scheduled to be
established in 1998.

"ICMI is an organization of intellectuals which since its
inception does not wish to be involved in practical politics.
We've always tried to avoid any political entanglement," he told
The Jakarta Post.

Adi was commenting on the possibility of ICMI members being
recruited as ministers. Several ministers in the current cabinet
are ICMI leaders, including Minister of Education Wardiman
Djojonegoro, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar
Anas, and Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto.

Some political analysts have suggested this reflected the
success of ICMI's political lobbying. ICMI leaders have refuted
the speculation, as its chairman B.J. Habibie, who is State
Minister for Research and Technology, is actually among the
longest serving ministers in President Soeharto's cabinet.

He became Soeharto's aide in 1978, while ICMI was only
established in 1990. Habibie has been known for years as
President Soeharto's confidante.

It has often been suggested that ICMI heralded the period when
Moslems, who were politically marginalized in the past, improved
their relations with the government. President Soeharto and Vice
President Try Sutrisno are both patrons of the organization,
albeit in their personal capacities.

Adi said the recruitment of ICMI members to the current
cabinet, which was set up in 1993, should be attributed to the
individuals' capabilities and acceptability and "not because
they're ICMI members".

"Besides, it's the President's prerogative to appoint
ministers. It's irrational and illogical to say that ICMI has
played a part in (the recruitment)."

Adi said some political observers' analysis was unfair. "Many
ICMI members are not included in the current cabinet, including
(former environment minister) Emil Salim. Billi Joedono (former
minister of trade), in fact, was dismissed from the cabinet (in
1995)," he said.

Adi said there were more important issues that should be
addressed by the next cabinet, namely justice, the equal
distribution of resources, and democratization.

"No matter who sits in the next cabinet should be more
sensitive toward those matters. Our people have become more
intelligent and more demanding of those subjects," he said.

Only with justice, equal distribution and democratization can
a healthy and dynamic stability be achieved, said Adi. He was in
town to sign a cooperation agreement between the Center for
Information and Development Studies (CIDES), which he chairs, and
the East Java regional development planning board for studies on
markets for the province's prime products.

"The next cabinet should be more attuned to the fate of the
common people, who are the majority of our population. Their life
is at stake in the increasingly stiff social competition," he
said. (nur/swe)