ICMI's fate comes under spotlight ahead of congress
ICMI's fate comes under spotlight ahead of congress
JAKARTA (JP): Social observer Aswab Mahasin raised questions
yesterday about the "fate" of the influential Association of
Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) in the event of a major
change in Indonesian politics.
Aswab was speaking at a discussion marking the launching of
ICMI: Antara Status Quo dan Demokrasi (ICMI: Between the Status
Quo and Democracy), a book on the organization's development over
the past five years. Adi Sasono, a leading ICMI member, was among
the other speakers at the gathering.
"Does ICMI's future hinge on the power with which it is
allying itself at present?" Aswab asked, adding: "If the power
shifts, will ICMI survive?"
The discussion revolved around the perceived closeness between
ICMI and the power holders, especially given that ICMI's
chairman, State Minister for Research and Technology B.J.
Habibie, is a close confidant of President Soeharto.
Other topics discussed yesterday included ICMI's role in
democratization: specifically, whether ICMI can bring about
changes from its position "within", or whether it should do its
job from "outside" the political system.
Aswab said that there is no denying that ICMI, established in
1990, has grown to be a very large organization.
"ICMI is a big phenomenon. There's no political party that has
been written about as extensively as ICMI has," he said. "Not
even (the ruling political grouping) Golkar and the (independent
labor union) SBSI have been talked about as much," he added.
Earlier in the day, Adi, who is director of the Center for
Information and Development Studies, an ICMI think-tank, defended
the organization's record on various matters.
He dismissed various accusations made against ICMI, which he
said had come from intellectuals, politicians and the mass media.
"There are people who claim that ICMI is a mere tool of Pak
(Mr.) Harto (Soeharto) in mobilizing Moslems (as a political
base) and that ICMI is standing in opposition to the Armed Forces
(ABRI)," he said.
Since ABRI is supposed to be a force which defends the
national interest, then the logic of such claims is that ICMI is
a "sectarian" force, Adi said.
He said that, if ICMI had been "sectarian", "elitist" and
concerned only with promoting the interests of particular social
groups, it would not have fought for the abolition of the
controversial state lottery, SDSB, in 1993.
Adi, who is known to have been included on the list of the
five ICMI leaders most favored to sit on the organization's 1995-
2000 executive board, also denied that ICMI was banking on its
connection with the power holders.
"If ICMI were merely seeking proximity to the power holders,
why would it have Bintang, the number one opposition figure in
the whole of Southeast Asia, in its lineup?" he asked.
Adi was referring to Sri Bintang Pamungkas, an outspoken
politician and a recently-sacked legislator who is currently on
trial for allegedly defaming President Soeharto. Bintang is a
member of ICMI's council of experts.
"I reject the charge. Being close to the center of power is
not enough. We should be that power," he said to laughter from
the audience, most of which were students and scholars.
Adi said ICMI needs to have various resources to cope with the
various challenges it is facing. He said ICMI is concerned, for
instance, about the widespread incidence of land disputes, and
believes that only improved legislation can solve the problem.
It is in this connection that ICMI needs to have access to
power, he said.
"There's no way we can defend the people's rights unless we do
it from 'within'", he said.
ICMI will hold its annual congress here from Dec. 7 to Dec. 9.
President Soeharto is scheduled to open the gathering, which will
also elect a new chairman for ICMI's 1995-2000 executive board.
Sources say the congress is likely to re-elect Habibie by
acclamation, given his achievements in leading the government-
backed organization. (swe)