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.