Jakarta backs Habibie to retain ICMI chair
Jakarta backs Habibie to retain ICMI chair
JAKARTA (JP): Leaders of the Jakarta branch of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) expressed their determination to re-elect incumbent chairman B.J. Habibie, albeit in a more democratic way.
Lukman Harun, the chairman of the branch's advisory board, told the media yesterday that "99.9 percent" of ICMI's branch members want Habibie to retain the chairmanship.
The influential organization still needs Habibie for his capabilities as well as for his position as State Minister of Research and Technology and as the leader of various other institutions.
"Let's just hope President Soeharto gives his blessing to Habibie's re-election," Lukman said.
"We're all still satisfied with his performance leading the organization," said Hussein Umar, another leading member.
Lukman is coordinating the Jakarta delegation to ICMI's second congress, which will be opened by President Soeharto tomorrow. The branch accounts for 50 smaller organizational units, known as Orsat, with a total of 100 votes.
The organization currently has 470 regional branches and orsat across the country and overseas, with 1,200 votes among them.
Some 1,000 leading members will attend the gathering and elect a new executive board for the 1995-2000 period. Observers from Malaysia as well as some Middle Eastern and European countries will also attend.
Lukman said the Jakarta branch is determined to see that the congress introduces a transparent, democratic election process.
"We want an improved election procedure. If it means we should have a direct, open election right there on the floor, why not?" Lukman said.
The Jakarta delegation will also campaign for a restructuring of the executive board so that ICMI will have one chairman, a number of deputy chairmen and a secretary-general.
Currently, the organization has one chairman, a number of assistants to the chairman and an executive secretary. The last post is held by Minister of Education Wardiman Djojonegoro.
Critics say the current structure causes an unnecessary dependence on Habibie, whose assistants, and the executive secretary, lack the authority to run the organization.
"The current structure should be changed so that ICMI can have a collective leadership and won't be too dependent on one person (Habibie)," Lukman said.
Revamping the leadership structure will allow the organization to run more "dynamically" and to better accommodate the members' needs, he said.
Established in 1990, ICMI has gone from strength to strength, managing to recruit President Soeharto, in his personal capacity, as the chairman of its board of patrons. Other board members are Vice President Try Sutrisno and former vice president Sudharmono.
Membership in the organization, which is considered "open" because of its loose criteria for recruitment, now includes cabinet ministers, influential businesspeople and village leaders.
However, analysts have pointed out that ICMI is experiencing a deepening rift between members.
People who are close to Habibie form an "inner circle" and have reportedly taken steps to do away with election procedures. Instead, they want to establish an electoral council which will merely "formalize" a new executive board.
Other loyal supporters of Habibie, but standing at a slightly greater distance from him, form the "outer circle". They have also campaigned for Habibie's reelection, but want it to be achieved through democratic elections.
Should Habibie be reelected without democratic procedures, one leading member said: "I would be ashamed because all this time ICMI has been advocating democratization".
Analysts said the second group is made up of a number of critical scholars, such as Amien Rais, Nurcholish Madjid, M. Amien Aziz and Dawam Rahardjo. (swe)