Nurcholish warns of the dangers of 'mob politics'
JAKARTA (JP): While the nation can be thankful for the democratic election of President Abdurrahman Wahid, it must be wary of mob politics, noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid said on Monday.
"If we heard rumors about money politics during the General Assembly of the People's Consultative Assembly, now 'mob politics' is mushrooming. It's a defect in our democracy," Nurcholish, better known as Cak Nur, said during a dialog.
He described mob politics as the use of muscle and force by groups unfamiliar with "logical discourse" to advance their political interests.
"Mob politics is not a crime, but it's evidence of backwardness and an underdeveloped society; an irony given the fact we have just begun our democracy," he remarked.
Nurcholish said the use of force was a legacy of past regimes, which he accused of ignoring the process of nation-building for three decades and creating a society lacking in trust.
"In a society with a low level of trust, mob politics becomes an easy alternative to solve disputes," he said.
Nurcholish suggested that compromise, reconciliation and accommodation between groups be promoted to solve the problem of mob politics.
He also said Abdurrahman was so accommodative in naming Cabinet ministers, that some of the ministers were not the best choices. "Even some of the ministers' appointments were marred by scandal."
He said the public was now beginning to doubt Abdurrahman's government was working to solve the economic crisis, because "people whom many believe are the source of the sad crisis" were included in the government.
Nurcholish also blamed Abdurrahman's accommodativeness for the survival of "intellectual actors who enjoyed their dirty politics during the past regime".
But when asked if he would propose a Cabinet reshuffle, Nurcholish said it was the President's prerogative.
He instead suggested that Abdurrahman win the hearts of the people by bringing human rights violators and corrupt government officials and businesspeople to justice.
During the same dialog, economists Faisal Basri and Arif Aryman said the new government was short of perspective.
"Although Gus Dur has legitimacy, the people have now started to loose hope in this government," Faisal said referring to the President by his nickname.
Faisal also said Abdurrahman should trim down his Cabinet, proposing Minister of Finance Bambang Sudibyo and State Secretary Ali Rahman as two ministers who could be dropped from the lineup.
Separately, another government critic and political observer Eep Syaifulloh Fatah suggested that President Abdurrahman avoid falling into the same trap as his predecessors by attempting to enlist the assistance of business tycoons, something which could easily lead to cronyism.
Eep warned that there were already dangerous signs that Abdurrahman was being courted by big business.
Eep noted that Abdurrahman was acting like former President Soeharto by inviting and closely associating with business tycoons whose past record, in the eyes of some, was questionable.
"It seems that Gus Dur is trapped in a pragmatic situation to solve this nation's problems quickly by turning to and installing people who may have had a bad record in the past.
"It's like a lamp surrounded by fireflies, eventually the lamp will be completely covered," he said.
He cited the ease with which the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslim organization, which Abdurrahman chaired until last month, was able to raise funds for its recent congress in Kediri, East Java, as businessmen contributed in droves.
He further claimed that the NU was receiving a lot of offers for assistance in the planned upgrading of its head office on Jl. Kramat Raya, Central Jakarta.
"It shows that businessmen are trying to get closer to the new government. It now depends on how Gus Dur plans to avoid the wrongdoings of the past," he said. (jun)