Megawati to open annual Muhammadiyah meeting

Megawati to open annual Muhammadiyah meeting

Rita A. Widiana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

President Megawati Soekarnoputri is confirmed to open the annual
meeting of Muhammadiyah, named Tanwir Muhammadiyah, at the Grand
Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur, Bali on Wednesday.

The President is scheduled to address the meeting of
Muhammadiyah, one of the biggest Islamic organizations in
Indonesia, which will be attended by more than 300 regional
representatives throughout Indonesia.

Syaifudin, secretary of the organizing committee, said that
the President and her husband Taufik Kiemas as well as a number
of Cabinet members would arrive at Ngurah Rai International
Airport in Kuta at 1:30 p.m. local time and would leave for
Yogyakarta at 3:30 p.m. after opening the ceremony.

However, the meeting's 15 sessions will be held at Bali Natour
Hotel in downtown Denpasar. The four-day meeting, starting from
Jan. 24 through Jan. 27, bears the special theme: national
enlightenment and cultural proselytization.

"Tanwir 2002 is expected to yield strategic decisions for the
good of the nation," said Syaifudin.

The meeting will discuss the most recent religious, social,
political, economic and cultural issues and will seek solutions
to each of the lingering problems.

In addition to members of Muhammadiyah such as chairman Syafii
Maarif, speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly Amien Rais,
the meeting will also present a number of respected scholars.

Noted scholar Nurcholis Madjid, Kompas commissioner Jacob
Oetama, and historian Taufik Abdullah will talk about the
problems of the nation and national enlightenment.

Other speakers include Ratna Megawangi, Ismail Suny, Minister
of National Education Malik Fadjar and former finance minister
Bambang Sudibyo.

Established in Yogyakarta in l912, by K.H. Achmad Dahlan,
Muhammadiyah is a socioreligious organization in Indonesia
dealing with the reformation of Islam in general and Islamic law
in particular. It was originally intended to spread pure Islamic
teachings to the people of Yogyakarta and the neighboring areas.
In the course of its history, Muhammadiyah has grown to become
one of the powerful Islamic organizations in the country. It
claims to have millions of members across Indonesia, mostly in
urban areas.

This year's Tanwir Muhammadiyah is quite special as it is held
in the Hindu dominated island of Bali. Rows of the organization's
green flags decorate the main streets of Denpasar and Sanur.
"Bali is a cultural island. It is in accordance with our theme
which promotes the cultural proselytization campaign," said
Syaifudin.

Hundreds of Muhammadiyah school students from kindergarten
through to high school will take part in a parade during the
opening ceremony.

"They will have two days off because all the teachers and
staff of Muhammadiyah schools here will attend the meeting," said
Ishaq, the chairman of the steering committee.

Preceding the Tanwir, Amien Rais yesterday opened a cultural
exhibition at the Bali Natour. Amien will also deliver a speech
entitled Enlightenment and Indonesia's Vision on Wednesday
evening. The meeting will continue until Sunday afternoon.