Intellectual organizations need regulations
JAKARTA (JP): Members of the House of Representatives yesterday urged the government to regulate the activities of intellectual associations amidst signs that their presence is affecting the political climate in the country.
The House's Commission II on domestic politics said during a plenary hearing that the establishment of these associations and their activities are sowing public confusion, especially now that they appear to be treading into the political arena.
The chief concern is that membership in these intellectual associations is based on religious or sectarian lines, said Amru Al Mu'Tasyim, who was speaking on behalf of his colleagues in Commission II.
The appeal came amidst signs that there is a rift within members of President Soeharto's cabinet, particularly between B.J. Habibie, who chairs the increasingly influential Association of Islamic Intellectuals (ICMI), and Siswono Yudohusodo, who has been widely predicted to head the new Association of Nationalist Intellectuals (ICKI).
Habibie, the state minister of research and technology, and Siswono, the minister of transmigration, have been locked in a war of words over the past week after Siswono publicly accused Habibie's ICMI of indulging in politics.
Individuals
Siswono acknowledged that ICMI members may have been acting in their individual capacities when making political statements, but too often they have still carried the ICMI tag, making their intentions difficult to distinguish.
He also deplored that PIKI, the Association of Christian Intellectuals, was revived after having been dormant for years, and that this was followed by the establishment of ISKA (Catholic), ICMI (Islam) and FCHI (Hindu).
Habibie, responding to Siswono's charges, denied that individual ICMI members represent the association when they are in political circles.
He pointed out that ICMI welcomes intellectuals of any political affiliation and that some of the association's executives hold high posts in political parties including Golkar and the United Development Party.
Commission II of the House yesterday proposed that the government move to unite these intellectual organizations under one umbrella and defuse potential conflicts among them.
By bringing them into one group, all the intellectual potential that they offer could be combined and directed toward developing the country without conflicts over the interests of individual groups, it said in its report. Violation
Spokesman Amru also said the establishment of these associations may have violated the law on mass organizations. "They should reorganize these associations so they comply with the law."
Most of the criticisms have been leveled against ICMI, by far the biggest and politically the most influential of all the intellectual associations.
ICMI, which has established chapters in the regions, government agencies and even Indonesian embassies abroad, is reported to have been influential in the formation of Golkar's executive board last October. Many people associated with ICMI now also sit on Soeharto's cabinet.
The power of ICMI has been such that its chairman, Habibie, has been tipped to be one of the strongest contenders to replace President Soeharto when he steps down in 1998.
The establishment of ICKI, led by former cabinet minister Alamsyah Perwiranegara, has been seen as a manifestation of dissatisfaction with ICMI's growing power.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister of Political and Security Affairs Soesilo Soedarman appealed to the intellectual community in Indonesia to stay politically neutral and not to be affected by attempts to sway them to serve certain political interests.
Speaking in Yogyakarta on Sunday, Soesilo said the intellectual community should remain united and avoid being "compartamentalized."
"Whatever they do, they should place the country's unity above personal or group interests," he said as quoted by Antara. (par)