Syafii denies internal rifts, intervention

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): As thousands of Moslems began streaming into the spruced up town to attend Thursday's opening of the Muhammadiyah congress, leading members of the organization heatedly denied reports of internal rifts and outside intervention in the organization's affairs.

Vice Chairman Syafii Maarif attempted on Saturday to convince reporters that there had not been any bickering among aspiring chairmen of the organization. "There are no polarized groups within Muhammadiyah... We'll decide who's going to be the next chairman by consensus or by taking a vote if necessary," he said.

Informed sources, however, told The Jakarta Post that there had been rising tension between at least two hopefuls: incumbent Amien Rais and former vice chairman Lukman Harun.

Supporters of each camp have been observed campaigning for their candidates or against the other parties, either by approaching reporters covering the event or through other participants.

For instance, an association of the offspring of former Muhammadiyah chairmen, led by Fauzi, son of the late charismatic leader, A.R. Fachruddin, has been campaigning for weeks to "save" the organization from politicking aspirants.

They have pursued a campaign against "anyone who aspires to become chairman." This stance, according to Fauzi, is in line with the teachings of Prophet Muhammad that "we should not elect someone who asks for a position".

Given the respected place that Fauzi and his friends occupy in the organization, there is a possibility that the congress will turn away from Amien and Lukman and, instead, elect an unlikely figure, such as senior leader Prodjokusumo.

Meeting

In the 83 years history of Muhammadiyah, there have been two occasions on which the electoral board has appointed figures not chosen by the congress.

A source close to Amien confirmed the tension but told the Post that he and Lukman had held a private meeting on Saturday, facilitated by the Aceh branch of the organization, and "reconciled" themselves with one another.

So far, only two names have been circulating widely as likely to be chosen as the chairman of a 13-strong executive board: Amien and Lukman.

Following the meeting with Amien, however, Lukman told reporters that he would not be able to compete with Amien, an intellectual and leading member at the powerful Indonesian Association of Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI).

Amien declined to comment about the reported tension between himself and the camp of Lukman. He only expressed his wish that the congress, to be opened by President Soeharto, would proceed smoothly.

He did concede, however, that the preliminary two-day meeting of the group's law-making body, which started yesterday and is expected to short-list the number of candidates from 96 to 39, might face some obstacles.

"The most likely obstacle is if leading figures of Muhammadiyah fail to restrain themselves and bring up unnecessary material, such as this discussion about polarized camps," he said.

The observation of the Post, however, revealed that tension still existed and was apparent in the comments made by some of the candidates. Lukman, for instance, harshly criticized political observer Afan Gaffar, who is also present at the arena and has recently stated he favored the incumbent, as a mouthpiece of Amien.

Another rumor circulating among participants is that the Aceh provincial administration as well as the ruling Golkar group intend to steer the congress in a particular direction.

The leaders, however, defended their independence, despite the fact that they have received large donations from the government and individual officials.

Donations

President Soeharto donated Rp 500 million, according to chairman of organizing committee Sutrisno Muchdam, while the Aceh administration provided Rp 600 million.

There was also some Rp 120 million from a number of local regents and mayors, Rp 100 million from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, and an undisclosed amount from individual officials, including cabinet ministers. The congress is being held at a cost of over Rp 2.6 billion (approximately US$ 1.2 million).

The donations that it has received don't necessarily mean that Muhammadiyah has to sacrifice its independence, the leaders said.

"Don't worry about our independence...we won't be dragged into any political organization," Vice Chairman Rusjdi Hamka said.

Rusjdi himself is a leading member of the United Development Party, while Din Syamsuddin, another hopeful for the chairmanship, is a vice chairman at the executive board of the ruling Golkar. The local organizer, Teuku Djohan, is chairman of the Golkar branch, chairman at the provincial legislative council, as well as former vice governor.

Afan Gaffar told the Post that independence was not one of Muhammadiyah's forte. The organization, whose members are mostly civil servants, "is very accommodative" of the government, he said.

Therefore, "there's no need for the government to interfere" in Muhammadiyah internal affairs, he said. (swe/Wisnu Pramudya)