Many question bureaucrats' grip on ICMI

Many question bureaucrats' grip on ICMI

By Haryoso

SEMARANG (JP): Observers are divided over the significance of
the strong presence of senior government officials in the new
leadership of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals
(ICMI).

Political analysts welcomed the appointment of scholar Adi
Sasono to the newly-created post of secretary-general, as helping
to reduce ICMI's dependence on government figures.

ICMI ended its congress on Saturday with the reappointment of
B.J. Habibie, the State Minister of Research and Technology, as
its chairman for a second five-year term. The congress agreed on
the appointment of Adi as secretary-general and on the allocation
of more 165 100 seats on ICMI's boards of patrons, advisors,
executives, and experts.

Most of the top positions went to senior bureaucrats and
politicians, including ministers, albeit in their personal rather
than official capacities.

The lineup shows that the government has a strong stake in
ICMI, according to Moslem scholar Nurcholish Madjid, himself
appointed to ICMI's advisory board.

"Why the strong government interest? Because ICMI is an
organization that represents a majority group in Indonesia,"
Nurcholish, also a member of the National Commission on Human
Rights, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

The congress, particularly through the appointment of Adi
Sasono, has loosened Habibie's grip on the organization,
Nurcholish said.

It is now more of a collective leadership, he said.

Nurcholish added that, with its new leadership, ICMI would be
able to steer clear of a preoccupation with practical politics,
in spite of the presence of cabinet ministers on its boards.

He said the organization would stay true to its original
mission, which is the development of Indonesia's human resources.

The difference, this time, is that ICMI must be able to show
that its work is dedicated to the benefit of the entire nation,
not just Indonesia's Moslems, Nurcholish said, echoing President
Soeharto's comments at the opening of the congress last Thursday.

Meanwhile, Riswandha Imawan of Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada
University said the presence of Adi Sasono would neutralize the
"bureaucratic culture" which, he said, has been felt in ICMI
since its establishment five years ago.

"I think if ICMI continues to rely on the leadership of the
bureaucrats, it will lose its character as an organization of
intellectuals," Riswandha said.

One of the traits of bureaucratic culture, he said, is a
reluctance to criticize superiors.

Allowing such a culture to develop in ICMI would run counter
to the principle that intellectuals must be critical, Riswandha
said, adding that would be detrimental to the development of
science.

Maswadi Rauf of the University of Indonesia in Jakarta said
that, overall, the ICMI leadership lineup still reflects
Habibie's power and influence over the organization.

Habibie, he said, remains a "central figure" in ICMI and the
organization is therefore unlikely to undergo major change during
the next five years.

Maswadi said that one of the main reasons behind Habibie's
popularity within ICMI, allowing him to be reelected with ease,
is that "he is close to the President."

"ICMI has become too dependent on Habibie. And this is going
to be a big challenge for whoever replaces him in 2000," he
added.

Riswandha said the appointment to ICMI's boards of two senior
figures from the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) -- Ilyas Ruhiyat and Yusuf
Hasyim -- does not indicate that ICMI has finally recruited the
powerful Moslem group into its leadership.

The two men are two NU figures known for being very close and
accommodative to those in power, Riswandha said. "It would be an
altogether different matter if ICMI had appointed Abdurrahman
Wahid or one of his people onto its boards," he added.

Abdurrahman is the chairman of the 30-million strong NU. He
has been critical of ICMI since its inception, arguing that the
establishment of the organization could encourage a revival of
sectarian politics in Indonesia.