Religious leaders should avoid politics

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta

Leaders of social organizations and religious groups should not enter politics or the country risked losing civilian groups to effectively check the performance of the government, analysts say.

Indria Samego from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that social organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah and their leaders have to stay out of "practical politics".

"Figures like Hasyim Muzadi will have more influence if he stays above the political fray," Indria announced during a press conference on Tuesday.

Hasyim is chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization that helped establish the National Awakening Party (PKB). The Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have reportedly asked Hasyim to be their vice presidential candidate in the July 5 election.

PKB, which will likely end up with the third largest bloc of the popular vote from the April 5 election, has nominated Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid as its candidate.

Hasyim had been approached by political leaders, most of whom asked him to be their vice presidential candidate. President Megawati Soekarnoputri met with Hasyim in Surabaya on Monday. Sources at Golkar, on the other hand, have expressed a possibility that they would tab Hasyim as newly nominated Wiranto's running mate.

Just two weeks ago, Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim organization with over 30 million members, had thrown its support behind Amien Rais, leader of the National Mandate Party (PAN).

According to Indria, religious leaders could not do anything if they were merely the vice president.

"Under the presidential system, the vice president functions only as a reserve," he said

Meanwhile, research director of the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) Muhammad Qodari warned that once those mass organizations announce support for a certain political party or presidential or vice presidential candidate they immediately lose their independence.

Qodari said the religious leaders and groups had to learn from experiences during the presidency of Gus Dur, a former chairman of NU, which claims to have around 40 million members.

NU, according to Qodari, failed to perform its checks and balances role during the leadership of Gus Dur and acted more as his loyal defender.

"This will also happen to Muhammadiyah if Amien Rais is elected president," he said.

Visually impaired Muslim cleric Gus Dur was elected the country's fourth president in October 2000 but was ousted in a controversial July 2001 legislative decision over charges for which he has since been exonerated.

Qodari acknowledged that NU and Muhammadiyah had become "breeding grounds" for national leaders.

As social organizations, however, the Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah had to keep neutral and stand above all social groups, he said.

He said once those social organizations decided to support certain political parties or enter politics, they would unavoidably become exclusive.

He also emphasized that increasing efforts by parties to approach religious organizations and community leaders indicated the failure of political parties to groom their own national leaders.