Nurcholish to run for presidency

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid announced on Monday his intention to run for presidency in 2004, offering a platform which is aimed at rebuilding the nation through the principles of democracy.

"Insya Allah (God willing), I'm ready to be one of the presidential candidates," Nurcholish said at a press conference.

Known as a low-profile figure, Nurcholish is the first nonpartisan to announce his presidential bid.

Nurcholish, better known as Cak Nur, said democracy in the country had improved much compared to 1999, when the nation was learning about true democracy.

Indonesia is to hold a landmark direct presidential election in 2004 in its effort to build a more legitimate government. However, public participation looks to remain minimal until the balloting as presidential candidates will be determined by the political parties.

Nurcholish said winning or losing did not matter to him as his main goal was to sell his 10-point platform to the public.

"We have reached a state of 'to be, or not to be'. We must ask all parties to rebuild the country which is now being threatened by disintegration," he said.

Good governance at every level of each administration and institution will top his agenda of national rebuilding, Nurcholish asserted.

"We know that every position in the country can be bought. We must stop such a practice, once and for all," he said.

His next priority was consistent law enforcement, followed by national reconciliation.

"We must learn from the past and vow not to repeat past mistakes. We need to see our future in a spirit of peace, and unite all elements of the nation. We must draw a firm line to forgive the past, but to not forget it," he said.

He proposed economic reform through production activities that involved as many poor people as possible.

Civilians, particularly the press and the academic community, would be entitled to freedom, while the clear-cut division of labor between the executive, legislature and judicial powers must be complied with, he said.

"It's part of the effort to develop and strengthen democratic institutions," he said.

He noted that national defense and security should be developed by rebuilding the dignity of military and police officers within the framework of democracy.

"We have seen that the military and the police ignore their national duty of defending and securing the nation," he said.

He maintained that national unity could be preserved through a cultural approach and the recognition of pluralism and regional autonomy, instead of the use of military force.

The last three main goals of his platform are to expand the coverage of national education and raise its quality, to realize social justice and to take an initiative in building world peace.

The Golkar Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) are among those political parties that have expressed their interest in nominating Nurcholish as their presidential candidate.

He admitted to having formed a campaign team which includes "a number of idealistic youths".