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.