National leaders' terms of office too long: Expert
National leaders' terms of office too long: Expert
YOGYAKARTA (JP): A scholar of the 28-million strong
Muhammadiyah Moslem organization has called for a limitation on
the length of time national leaders should remain in office in
order to prevent the emergence of a "stuffy political
atmosphere".
Ahmad Syafii Maarif, the deputy chairman of the organization
and a professor at the Sunan Kalijaga State Institute for Islamic
Studies here, said the call wouldn't be necessary if the position
of national leader was merely a symbol and not a governor.
Speaking at Muhammadiyah University on Wednesday, Syafii cited
the heads of state of England, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and the
Netherlands as examples of national leaders who are little more
than figureheads.
Syafii, a noted political commentator, pointed out the need to
learn from the history of Islamic kingdoms of how the failure to
limit the leaders' period in office eventually caused the
downfall of the leaders themselves.
"What's interesting is how this anti-theist political system
was maintained by the classical Moslem experts as something which
was religiously correct," he said.
Syafii, who obtained his doctorate at Chicago University in
1982 and is a visiting professor at McGill University in
Montreal, Canada, did not make specific references to Indonesia.
Muhammadiyah did, however, in 1993 grabbed nationwide attention
when a leading member, Amien Rais, brought up the issue of the
national leadership succession.
Amien, who is currently chairman of Muhammadiyah, campaigned
at the time for public discussion about the then politically
taboo subject. "We have to have a succession in 1998," Amien has
said.
The issue snowballed, and discussions on the presidential
succession as well as limits to presidency started to abound.
They, however, have not stopped various groups in society from
promoting the re-election of President Soeharto for his seventh
consecutive term.
Some organizations affiliated to the ruling Golkar, several
cabinet ministers, as well as the legion of Indonesian veterans
have openly asked that Soeharto "allow" himself to be nominated
for the presidency again in 1998.
Eligible citizens will cast their votes in 1997, while
74-year-old President Soeharto appears to have no contender at
present.
Soeharto was re-elected in March 1993 for his sixth
consecutive term by a vote of acclamation of the 1,000-member
People's Consultative Assembly. He was the sole candidate in the
election, as he was in 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983 and 1988.
On Wednesday Syafii criticized Moslems who use Islam as a
means to meet their sometimes "immoral" interests, such as their
greed for power.
He also lashed out at those who pay more attention toward
petty matters rather than substantial issues such as
backwardness, poverty, social and political injustice and
economic diversity in society.
"It's why Moslems, who used to be civilized world leaders,
have for centuries been lagging behind (in global development),"
he said. (har/swe)