Nurcholis asks Gus Dur, Amien to be silent

JAKARTA (JP): Noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid urged People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais and President Abdurrahman Wahid to stop making controversial statements.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Nurcholish asked the two national and religious leaders to exercise self-restraint to minimize the risk of a possible conflict among Muslims in the country.

"I urge my friends Gus Dur and Amien Rais, as the highest leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, to avoid making such extravagant and outrageous statements," he remarked, calling Abdurrahman by his nickname.

Amien formerly chaired the Muhammadiyah organization before he was appointed as the National Mandate Party's chairman in 1998. Abdurrahman chaired NU, the largest Muslim organization, for the last 15 years before becoming President.

Nurcholish reminded the politicians that they should not go too far with their statements as they could create political terror, which would have a negative influence on the democratization process in the country.

"We should not let political terror happen. We should not forget our common sense when solving the country's problems in a positive way. Terror means we are not civilized," he said.

Calls have been mounted for political elites, particularly Abdurrahman, Amien and House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, to exercise restraint and stop making conflicting statements ahead of the Assembly's General Session in August.

Some even asked for a people's movement to put pressure on the elites to establish a political pause.

Tommy Legowo and J. Kristiadi of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) joined the chorus of concern over the fray between political elites.

Speaking in a regular media meeting on current political and economic issues, Tommy warned the political elites that continuing their ferocious exchange of words would only lead to anarchy rather than democratization. This, he said, is feared to put the nation on the brink of disintegration.

He said it was more important for the elites to work for the people's welfare, because the country has yet to emerge from economic recession.

Kristiadi dismissed speculation that the call for a political pause would only benefit President Abdurrahman, who has come under persistent criticism for his controversial policies.

"The political pause is to stop the power struggle between political elites and remind them of people's interests," Kristiadi said.

Another CSIS political expert Kusnanto Anggoro expects the 700-member Assembly to set a realistic target in the upcoming session.

"For example, the Assembly does not have to force itself to complete amendments to the 1945 Constitution because there are many important issues left unnoticed in the deliberation of the constitutional amendment," Kusnanto said.

In Yogyakarta, observer Pratikno called for reconciliation among political elites, warning that unseating President Abdurrahman would not help establish an "effective government" but only sharpen the political divide.

The Gadjah Mada University political scientist noted that the political problems would only become more serious and complex if a president elected less than a year earlier was toppled.

"Replacing Abdurrahman Wahid with Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri has nothing to do with the real problems facing the country," he said.

He said the ascendancy of Megawati as president would only complicate matters further, especially if she was not backed up by Abdurrahman.

Pratikno remarked that Megawati would immediately come under attack from the Axis Force.

According to Pratikno, the most immediate step to be taken by Abdurrahman after the Assembly's General Session in August is to conduct a cabinet overhaul with a new lineup which excludes all political parties except for the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

This way, he said, the cabinet would likely be more solid.

"Let the executive build a solid cabinet lineup with PKB and PDI Perjuangan controlling the cabinet".

"But at the same time there should also be a clear opposition force in the House of Representatives with the Golkar Party and the Axis Force". (44/dja)