Reform-minded Amien advocates high politics

Membangun Politik Adiluhung, Membumikan Tauhid Sosial, Menegakkan Amar Ma'ruf Nahi Munkar (Building high politics, interpreting social faith and enjoining right action and forbidding what is wrong and evil); By M. Amien Rais; Zaman Wacana Mulia, Bandung, 1998; 432 pp

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Having grown up under a repressive regime, most of Indonesia's young generation feel that their interests have never truly been represented by the government.

Many intellectuals believe that the political arena should be responsive to ideas based on values, discipline and ethics.

In Membangun Politik Adiluhung, Membumikan Tauhid Sosial, Menegakkan Amar Ma'ruf Nahi Munkar, editor Idi Subandy Ibrahim presents the thoughts of Amien Rais, co-founder and chairman of the newly established National Mandate Party (PAN), regarding his concerns over the country's chaotic political system.

The work especially focuses on Amien's feelings over government oppression and neglect toward many elements of society. Poverty and the country's now widening social gap are prominent issues. He also states that although most Indonesians are not aware of the magnitude of the ecological and economic destruction that has occurred during the crisis, they are very sensitive to the changes in their own daily lives.

The economic crisis, he says, is a disaster left behind by the New Order regime. Skyrocketing prices, massive layoffs and tumbling purchasing power have all crippled the poor.

To effectively face the crisis, Amien emphasizes the importance of amal saleh kolektif (collective righteous deeds).

Some scholars, however, have criticized Amien for focusing too much on the economic catastrophe and for dramatizing the necessity of truth and justice.

The book offers a special insight into Amien's personality by looking at his family background, ideals and ideas for a national dialog.

Inspired by the Islamic teaching amar ma'ruf nahi munkar (to enjoin rightful action and forbidding what is wrong and evil), he elucidates on the doctrines of the Moslem organization Muhammadiyah: 1) enlightening society, 2) the socialization of righteous deeds, 3) the need for cooperation to achieve social welfare and 4) no practical politics.

Amien was the chairman of Muhammadiyah, the country's largest charity and educational organization, until he founded PAN.

Amien argues that the country must develop "high politics" and familiarize society with tauhid (the concept of oneness of God).

For Amien, tauhid also means unity of creation, unity of mankind, unity of guidance and unity of life purpose. It demands the establishment of social justice because the exploitation of man by man is a denial of the equality of man before God.

The gap between rich and the poor, economic and social exploitation through monopolies and monopsonies, the existence of conglomerates which tend to work against social justice and a feudalistic education system are social phenomena which, he says, can be tantamount to anti-tauhid..

Therefore, he says, social tauhid must be brought about by eliminating injustice through high politics comprising of righteous deeds strictly adhering to the principle of amar ma'ruf nahi munkar.

In explaining the steps to achieve high politics, Amien steers the reader away from established political thinking in order to highlight religious ethics he believes is needed in politics.

Moral courage, Amien says, is the weapon needed to defeat political abuse of power. Indonesia's political leaders had been free to abuse their power for far too long because no one had until now been brave enough to effectively criticize such abuse.

Amien's past campaign to demythologize the president and reject cults of personality was a reminder to the nation that it urgently needed political and economic reform.

In bringing up the succession issue before former president Soeharto's resignation last May, Amien had attempted to warn of the dangers that lay behind the idea of an excessively strong and long-sitting president.

-- Robby H. Abror

The reviewer is a student at the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) in Yogyakarta.