Try warns of danger of theocratic state
JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno warned yesterday of the danger of flirting with the idea of turning Indonesia into a theocracy.
Try said the predominantly Moslem country of 190 million people should learn from its bitter past when the nation was divided for 350 years by colonial powers.
"We don't want to see any attempt by anyone or any group to turn Indonesia into a theocracy," he said when opening the first congress of Majelis Muslimin Indonesia (MMI), a Moslem organization affiliated with the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).
The three-day congress is taking place in Kopo, a scenic holiday resort about 60 kilometers south of here. It will elect a new chairman, adopt statutes and launch a five-year program.
Try's reminder came amid smoldering controversy over the emergence of organizations set up along religious lines, a tendency which has triggered the fear of eroding nationalism and brewing extremism.
Even though official statistics show that almost 90 percent of Indonesia's populace embraces Islam, the government considers any attempt to make it a theocracy subversive. Subversion is one of the most serious offenses under the law and is punishable by death.
Try also pointed out that the various secessionist rebellions occurring after Indonesia gained independence in 1945 should serve as an invaluable lesson on the importance of national unity.
"The various pressures and temptations should not easily sweep us off our feet," he said.
Dull mood
In Kopo, the congress began in a dull mood with the conspicuous absence of prominent rebel ulemas from the Moslem- oriented United Development Party (PPP) who have threatened to join PDI as MMI officials have advertised.
MMI officials earlier promised to make the congress special with the presence of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Abdurrahman Wahid and well-known ulemas, such as Alawy Muhammad, who dislike PPP's new leadership.
"Alawy is ill, but has assured his support of our cause," said MMI chairman Wim Salamun, who met with Alawy in Madura, East Java, and invited him to the gathering recently.
Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. and Armed Forces Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung, who were scheduled to address the gathering, were absent and sent lower-ranking officials on their behalf.
The order of the day was speculation among the about 100 participants from across the country about who will replace Salamun, who has been at the helm since MMI was founded in 1984.
Businessman Sugeng Saryadi and legislator Dimmy Haryanto appeared the strongest candidates, although the latter was reluctant to enter the race, saying he would take up "any job but the chairmanship".
Sugeng has received strong backing from participants who want to see MMI grow along with his personal fortune, observers said. (pan)