'Keep politics off campus', say local university rectors

By Ariefuddin Saeni

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): Local university rectors here agree that campuses should focus on academics and be free of political activities and election campaigning.

Basri Hasanuddin of Hasanuddin University, H.M. Saleh Putuhena of Alauddin State Institute for Islamic Studies, Abdurrahman A. Basalamah of the Indonesian Islamic University, and H. Arifin Pasinringu of the Ujungpandang Teachers College, separately, said they supported Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro and his position that campuses should not be turned into an arena of "practical politics".

"Campuses should be 'sterile' from practical politics," Basri told The Jakarta Post here recently. "As a rector, I don't want the campus, which should be a place for scientific development, to be preoccupied with activities which don't support academic life."

Basri said he was against the idea of any of the three political groupings mounting a "dialog campaign" of political speeches and debates on his campus.

"No campaign activities should be conducted on campus because they could divide academics," he said. "They should be held off campus to avoid controversy."

However, he added that he was not against carrying out academic studies on politics and campaigning. "They can be done, of course, for the sake of science," he said.

Saleh Putuhena and Arifin Pasinringi said they would not prevent students from joining political activities as long as they did not do so on campus. He defined "practical politics" as activities mounted to capture votes.

"The 'dialog campaigns' are related to the general election and to supporting one of the three contestants," Putuhena said. "If there were no such element as support for certain political contestants, and it they were geared toward providing students with political education, then the dialogs would be okay."

But Arifin admitted that no rector has the right to prevent students from getting involved in political activities.

"It's their right, as long as they are not exercising that right on campus," he said.

Abdurrahman Basalamah, former rector of the Indonesian Islamic University, also concurred. "Election campaigns could disturb campus serenity. Just like mosques, campuses should be free of interest groups."

Basalamah, however, said he would not mind if students, depending on the time and situation, invited political party representatives to speak on campus.

"University rectors should see and decide whether it's necessary (for students) to hold such dialogs," he said. "What's clear is that our society is becoming more mature, and campuses need not to be too involved in political activities.

"Universities can still contribute (to the nation's political life) by continuing with scientific studies," he said.

Basri dismissed the idea that politics is now the dominant factor in public life. "This is no longer suitable," he said. "Actually, all fields in life are important."

The international economics professor said that campuses should be used for learning and development activities.

"The results of those learning activities should be implemented in economic, social, cultural, political and other fields," he said. "This is the responsibility of universities. As a place for the development of science and technology, a university should do all it can to improve human welfare."