Speak out of conscience

Speak out of conscience

On June 13, 1999, I happened to listen to a BBC radio
interview with the acting chairman of the Indonesian Association
of Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) about the alleged bribery scandal
involving the then Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib, who was yet
to be suspended from office.

The answers given by the acting chairman of ICMI were so
absurd, and his all-out defense of Andi M. Ghalib and B.J.
Habibie was so obvious, that the interviewer was curious whether
his statements were really the reflection of his conscience.

In my opinion, as an organization of Muslim intellectuals in a
country where the population is predominantly Muslim, ICMI can
play its role as an authoritative pressure group toward the
government in fighting for public policies and upholding truth
and justice.

The same is also true of the Indonesian Council of Ulema
(MUI). Rather than issuing calls and appeals which may worsen the
tendency of national disintegration, it would be better for MUI
to popularize the idea that corruption, collusion and nepotism in
all their forms are religiously illegal.

If only MUI were consistent with the idea of "amar ma'ruf nahi
mungkar" (do away with vices and uphold virtues), I believe our
nation would not be in the poor condition that it finds itself in
now.

A. RAHMANTO

Jakarta