The central axis
The central axis
The recent emergence of the "central axis" is in fact only a
formality of an existing political reality in Indonesia.
If somebody thinks that the axis can disrupt the closeness
between Gus Dur and Megawati, another may think that it can
rupture the proximity between Hamzah Haz and President Habibie.
As an optimistic Muslim I can be proud that whoever will be
president he/she is a Muslim, be they Gus Dur, Habibie, Hamzah
Haz, Amien Rais or Megawati.
It is said that Megawati's full name is Diyah Permata Megawati
Soekarnoputri. "Diyah" comes from Muhammadiyah. Indonesia's first
president Soekarno was a loyal follower of the Muhammadiyah
movement. His first son was named Muhammad Guntur Soekarnoputra.
"Muhammad" was also taken from Muhammadiyah.
If we think in a pessimistic way, the Indonesian nation,
especially Muslims, have been organized into three different
groupings; the political reality of which engenders suspicion
between them. These groups are the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) group, the Golkar (functional) group and the Muslim group.
The Golkar group sees the PDI and Muslim groups as
respectively belonging to the extreme left and the extreme right.
On the other hand, the PDI group considers the Golkar and Muslim
groups as respectively bourgeois and fundamentalist. While the
Muslim group is of the opinion that the PDI and Golkar groups
represent respectively the embryo of communism and militarism.
The first led to the fall of heroes of the revolution and the
second resulted in the demise of the reform heroes.
All of this can be resolved if we want to see the problems
from the perspective of national unity. The three groups are
Indonesian products. There is a moral obligation for each group
to safeguard unity. They must be oriented toward the people's
interests.
It does not mean that all the groups must sit in one Cabinet,
or join forces as the opposition. Some become executives and
others form an opposition as supervisors, as is the case in other
democratic countries in the world. The question is, if they are
able to do it, why aren't we?
IFRAD SUKANTO
Jakarta