Relevance of intellectual organizations questioned
Relevance of intellectual organizations questioned
JAKARTA (JP): A number of senior statesmen yesterday
questioned the relevance of the presence of religious-based
intellectual organizations, saying that it could backfire on the
national unity which has been painfully built over the decades.
Roeslan Abdulgani, Sabam Sirait, Marzuki Darusman and Nico
Daryanto were all invited to the analytical meeting in Bandung
organized by the Association of Catholic Intellectuals (ISKA)
yesterday to give their views on the presence of religious-based
intellectual groupings.
Although their groups do not violate the Constitution, their
presence and objective should be reviewed in the context of the
life of this nation, the speakers conclude, as reported by the
Antara news agency.
The presence of intellectual organizations whose membership
depends on faith has been questioned only recently with the
increasing prominence of the Association of Moslem Intellectuals
(ICMI) under the chairmanship of B.J. Habibie, who is also the
state minister of research and technology.
ICMI is relatively new compared to ISKA and PIKI, the
association of Christian intellectuals. Hindu intellectuals have
since established FCHI while Buddhist intellectuals last week
announced the formation of their organization, KCBI.
Roeslan told the meeting in Bandung yesterday that the growth
of these organizations had confused him and he feared that they
could contribute to the weakening of the unity and cohesion of
this nation.
Various problems facing the nation in recent years have caused
people to turn inward into their background, roots or faiths,
said the former chairman of BP-7, an agency that advises
President Soeharto on ideological matters.
To illustrate his point, he cited the problems of wealth
disparity, rampant corruption, the low wages paid to workers and
collusion between businessmen and government officials.
The intellectual community, from whatever faith, should take
on the role of neutralizing these problems.
Responsibility
They should assume responsibility in accordance with their
skill and profession, and use their logic without ignoring their
spiritual beliefs, for the benefit of the nation, he said.
Roeslan said the intellectuals have a duty to society in
accordance with their profession and should leave the questions
of faith to the religious experts.
Nico, a politician of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI),
also agreed on the need to review the presence of ICMI and the
other religious-based intellectual organizations.
"We shouldn't allow these organizations to serve the political
interests of individuals or their groups," said the former PDI
secretary general.
Sabam Sirait, a PDI legislator, said however that the concerns
about the presence of these groups may have been exaggerated.
(emb)