Muslim students reject Megawati

Muslim students reject Megawati

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of Muslim students in Ujungpandang,
South Sulawesi, took to the streets on Monday voicing their
rejection of Megawati Soekarnoputri's presidential bid.

The demonstration took place at about the same time that
hundreds of locals gathered in Medan, North Sumatra, to express
their support of the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) by compiling thumb prints in
blood.

The young detractors of Megawati burned tires and shouted
slogans as they marched along Jl. Urip Sumoharjo toward the
office of the South Sulawesi provincial legislative council where
they unfurled a large banner that said: "Mega Yes, President No!"

Student leader Anas Ahmad said they wanted the legislators and
the provincial delegation to the General Session of the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) to heed their aspirations. "They
should at least campaign so we can have a (Muslim) president," he
said.

Megawati's detractors have often questioned her religious
affiliation.

Another group of Muslim students held a similar demonstration
at the Free West Irian Monument, also in Ujungpandang.

In Medan, hundreds of supporters gathered on Jl. Jamin Ginting
in the Padang Bulan area to give their thumb prints in blood. One
enthusiastic supporter even made prints of all his fingers,
pricking them with a needle one by one.

"I am her supporter, I want her to 'ascend' during the general
assembly," said the supporter, a driver by the name of Rizal T.

Organizer Ahmad said that by Monday afternoon, some 500 prints
had been collected on an 8-meter-long piece of white cloth.

Similar expressions of support had been made earlier,
including one in the Central Java capital of Semarang where some
2,000 people collected their signatures on a long red banner, and
in Jakarta on Sunday, where hundreds of people signed a long
banner reading "Megawati or Revolution".

The secretary of the North Sumatra chapter of PDI Perjuangan,
Taufan Agung Ginting, said the prints collection was "like a
referendum and proof that the people want her to be president".

A similar demonstration of support was voiced by about 100
women activists from various towns on Java, who gathered on
Sunday in Yogyakarta. Led by the wife of PDI Perjuangan executive
Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, the group read a pledge of loyalty to
Megawati.

They unfurled a banner that read, "Rise, oh Indonesian women,
your time has come."

Soetardjo, who also attended the rally, said it would be an
injustice if Megawati failed to become president because she was
a woman. He believed there was no religious teaching against a
woman being president.

"Of 24 million Megawati supporters, some 90 percent are
Muslims," he insisted.

Another Megawati aide, legal expert Dimyati Hartono, said on
Sunday in Semarang, Central Java, that PDI Perjuangan's
commanding lead in the provisional poll results reflected the
people's support for Megawati.

"This controversy about her presidency should really stop," he
said.

Megawati has been facing the greatest challenge yet to her
presidential bid, namely resistance from Muslim groups who
believe Islam bars a woman from heading an administration.

The opinion of the Muslim groups, however, was far from
uniform. Hundreds of ulemas from one group -- Indonesia's largest
Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama -- have been split over the
matter.

In the East Java town of Kediri, for instance, ulemas
gathering at Lirboyo pesantren (boarding school) selected several
respected Muslim scholars among them to say the special
istikharah prayer for divine guidance on the matter of Megawati's
presidency.

Nahdlatul Ulama's local leader, Ali Maschan Moesa, said in
Surabaya that the forum on religious matters, begun on July 10,
could not be concluded yet because the ulemas believe none of the
existing presidential candidates meet their criteria.

"Which is why we asked some ulemas to say the prayer so Allah
could help us make the best decision," Moesa said.

Moesa said he believed the ulemas were no longer making an
issue out of Megawati's gender because they believed there were
great differences between a president and Islamic caliph.

A caliph in Islam, for instance, bears all of the executive,
legislative and judiciary power, while a president holds only the
executive power, he said, hinting at the possibility of eventual
support for Megawati.

The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) was among the first
Islamic organizations that reminded Muslims to choose political
parties that fight for "national interests and that field Muslim
legislative candidates".

The council was soon blasted by many people who thought it was
attacking PDI Perjuangan, which fielded non-Muslims for 60
percent of its legislative candidates. Another critic was
Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, who accused the
council of meddling in politics and overstepping its boundary.

However MUI chairman Ali Yafie said the council was merely
carrying out its moral responsibilities toward Muslims.
(27/30/40/44/har/nur/swe)