Nurcholish warns of the dangers of 'mob politics'
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)