President Megawati needs the support of the Muslims

President Megawati needs the support of the Muslims

Question: What does Megawati Soekarnoputri's rise to the
presidency mean for Indonesian Muslims?

Answer: (Her win) was a natural occurrence; the consequence of
a democratic life conducted through political activities, which
are based on the Constitution. The 1945 Constitution says that if
a president dies, resigns or is incapable of carrying out their
duties, the vice president will take their place, regardless of
who the vice president is.

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) found Gus Dur to have
strayed from the broad Guidelines of State Policies (GBHN). It
happened that the vice president was Megawati so, of course, as
the constitution says, she replaces the president.

Q: What is your party's real stance on Megawati's leadership,
given that you once rejected her?

A: (In the 1999 presidential election) we believed in the vision
of leadership where the leader is a religious statesman. We did
not reject her on the grounds of her gender, but because of her
poor relations with Muslims, especially because there were people
around her who we believe were problematic. Gus Dur was, at the
time, considered to be safe. But things have changed.

However, we would take the same position that we did with Gus
Dur, namely to be Megawati's "positive opposition". We will
support only what is right, no matter where it comes from. We
will reject and criticize any mistakes, no matter who commits
them.

When the leaders of eight political parties met with Megawati
at her house (during the Special Session of the People's
Consultative Assembly), I made this clear to her. I said, "Gus
Dur is an open lesson to any leader. A leader should be rational.
No leader in the future should repeat and preserve the mistakes
of their predecessors."

A rational leader is one who corrects the mistakes of their
predecessors. One of Gus Dur's mistakes was that he ignored and
even neglected the Muslim ummah (community). Take the Ambon
(religious conflict) for example, where Gus Dur actually placed
the blame on the Muslims.

In addition, he repeatedly said he wanted to revoke the 1966
parliamentary decree banning communism. He said he wanted to open
ties with Israel. All of those things hurt Muslims. That's why
Muslims stopped supporting him, until he was toppled.

This is why it would be irrational for Megawati to neglect the
Muslim community, because most of her party's constituents are
Muslims.

If Megawati takes up this amanah (duty entrusted to someone)
steadfastly, she will succeed. Otherwise, do not blame anyone if
she fails. This nation is already exhausted with all of these
unending crises.

The way we see it is that, up to 2004, this nation needs all
of its elements in order to survive and overcome the crises.
Then, we'll be able to hold a fairer general election where
Muslims will be more prepared.

Let us hope that at that time we will have better, more
prepared leaders. The Justice Party, which has only seven seats
in the House of Representatives/People's Consultative Assembly,
cannot do much. But we won't waste this potential, no matter how
small, by working for the good and fighting the bad.

Q: What did Megawati say when you reminded her about Gus Dur's
mistakes?

A: She just smiled, she did not refute it.

Q: Does that mean you support her leadership now?

A: Once again, we are supporting the Constitution now. Or maybe
you could conclude that we are supporting a leadership that will
bring good for the ummah and minimize the mudharat (the bad).

Q: Even though you and the Muslim community were once against
her?

A: The Muslim community's support of Gus Dur (in 1999) was
because he was a "solidarity maker", one who was accepted by many
people and could appease conflict. Megawati, at the time, was a
troublemaker.

Later developments, however, showed that Gus Dur became the
troublemaker. He was arrogant. He created controversies and
conflicts everywhere. Even in the last minutes of his power he
was still able to create enmity inside (his) National Awakening
Party (PKB) by dismissing Matori Abdul Djalil.

The Muslim community used to be concerned because of
Megawati's distance from the ummah and because of this image that
(she was) perpetuating the (dominance) of the military. This was
why we had to act carefully and eventually reject her.

After 1999, however, she started to build political
communications with the ummah by going on the haj and umrah
(minor pilgrimage) for instance, and by allowing her husband to
have meetings at the Al Azhar and Al Furqan mosques.

Q: Couldn't it be mere strategy, a political tactic?

A: Yes, it's possible. But the situation now has reached the
point where (we had to choose) between allowing Gus Dur to
continue to be a dictator, or to bank on this bud of hope
(embodied in Megawati). The way I see it, it's better to develop
the positive potential no matter how small, than to preserve the
potential for mudharat embodied in Gus Dur.

Q: So the Muslim community and PDI Perjuangan are now embracing
one another?

A: I think we will not question who embraces whom, although of
course the one that has significantly changed is the PDI
Perjuangan by inviting (us) to pray at Al Azhar. What's important
is that our nation is now in a bad condition, which is why it
would be better if we all ta'awun alal birri wattaqwa (help one
another in goodness and in truth) in order to lift our nation out
of the crises.

Q: Let's assume that the Justice Party and the Muslim community
would not want to repeat the same mistake they made with Gus Dur.
What if Megawati changed?

A: As long as we remain in the spirit of ta'awun, we will
continue to cooperate. But we will never tolerate ta'awun alal
itsmi wal udwan (helping one another in sins and enmity).

Q: So, again, how will Muslims fare under Megawati?

A: We can judge from how she was and how she is now. In the
beginning we saw that she was surrounded by many anti-Islam
people. But the closer she was to her election, she began to be
surrounded more by people like Arifin Panigoro, Sucipto and
Pramono Anung, who are close enough to Muslims. In the military
circle, too, Megawati is now closer to people like Hendropriyono
and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who are considered quite close to
Islam.

Q: Are you saying Muslims will fare better under Megawati?

A: Maybe we should study how we were under Gus Dur. Many people
say, Alhamdulillah (praise be to God) that, with the removal of
Gus Dur, we are now free from syirik (the practice of giving
Allah associates, such as worshiping idols).

Remember, when his ministers were holding a cabinet meeting,
Gus Dur went to graves, so-called sacred places, trees and
consulted soothsayers. If this practice was to continue until
2004, we imagined that many officials from all ranks would do the
same thing.

Now, Megawati is probably a person who has just begun to
understand Islam. It will be easier to educate a person with
little understanding of Islam than someone who many consider a
wali (a saint) but whose conduct violates religious teachings.

Aside from all of these issues, however, Muslims should awake
and stand on their own feet. Do not depend on anyone, any
president. Whoever the leader of this nation is, Muslims should
create their own good prospects.

Q: Do you think Megawati will make policies that favor Muslims?

A: This is why we want Hamzah Haz as her deputy, so that he could
represent the Muslim ummah.

Q: Do you think the Muslims' interests would be accommodated in
Megawati's choice of cabinet ministers?

A: We surely hope so. But this is not something that we want out
of fundamental urges. Rather, we want this on the grounds of
cooperation and democracy, by understanding the reality of this
country where Muslims are the majority.

Q: Some Muslim groups think that we have just emerged from one
dangerous trap only to enter another. Your comment?

A: That could be so if we allowed ourselves to fall into a trap.
But we can become proactive, we could at least minimize the
mudharat and work for the good.

I prefer to see that Megawati has enormous potential that
could be developed well. She used to have people like Theo
Syafei, but now she has people like Ryaas Rasyid around her. So,
the question would be who will influence her? Will we allow her
to continue to be influenced by anti-Muslim people?

Why don't we win her over and free her from the anti-Muslim
groups, because it's those people who all this time exploited any
available chance to take Megawati away from the Muslims. (Deka
Kurniawan)