University lecturer leads Muhammadiyah Youth

University lecturer leads Muhammadiyah Youth

Edith Hartanto and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post,
Surabaya, East Java

Still shy but a bit surprised, university lecturer Abdul Mukti
emerged as champion on Wednesday when he was elected leader of
Muhammadiyah Youth, replacing outgoing leader Imam Addaruqutni.

The election was the main agenda item of the four-day
Muhammadiyah Youth congress at the Asrama Haji in Sukolilo here,
which closed on Wednesday.

Mukti, a master of education graduate from Flinders University
of South Australia, who has no party political affiliation, won
792 votes, a mere 68 more than National Mandate Party (PAN)
official Suyoto, a university rector, during the three-hour
voting session that began early on Wednesday morning.

Mukti's election reflects participants' determination to
distance Muhammadiyah Youth from political party influence.

A 70 year-old organization, Muhammadiyah Youth is under the
aegis of Muhammadiyah, one of the most prominent and puritanical
Muslim organizations in Indonesia.

During the 1999 general election, the majority of
Muhammadiyah's votes went to candidates from PAN, which is led by
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais, a former
Muhammadiyah chairman and Muhammadiyah Youth leader.

Wednesday's voting session went smoothly despite a bomb hoax
that temporarily shook supporters of the 13 leader hopefuls prior
to voting.

Mukti, who comes from the small Central Java village of Kudus,
secured major support from delegates representing Central Java,
Yogyakarta, part of Sumatra, West Java, Banten and West
Kalimantan.

According to Muhammadiyah Youth official M. Saleh Tjan, apart
from his "plus point" of having no political party affiliation,
Mukti was deemed capable of guiding Muhammadiyah Youth.

"He may be low-profile, but he is wise and firm. I believe he
will be able to lead the Youth to concentrate on formulating
social-oriented programs, to help with the nation's current
social problems," Saleh said.

Mukti said that he believed he could motivate members to
really understand and contribute ideas to the problems of the
nation.

Formulating a national program was tough considering that most
members had hardly ever discussed crucial issues facing the
nation such as labor, health, education, gender, or even the
amendment of the 1945 Constitution, he said.

He added that even though he had no wish to enter politics and
was happy with his teaching job at the Walisongo Institute of
Islamic Studies, he would not prevent Muhammadiyah Youth members
from expressing their political aspirations.

Muhammadiyah, established in 1912 as a modern organization
while maintaining its commitment to the Koran, reaffirmed its
desire recently to avoid practical politics and embrace local
cultures to affect social changes.

The 30 million-strong Muhammadiyah has made modern
contributions to Islamic religious thought.

Muhammadiyah is different from the Nahdlatul Ulama, another
prominent Muslim organization, which is much more tolerant and
adopts various pre-Islamic traditions as a pragmatic way of
spreading Islam, mostly in Java.

Some recommendations of the 12th Muhammadiyah Youth Congress

1. Push MPR members to avoid deadlock during the amendment of the
1945 Constitution.

2. Push the government to prioritize implementation of the reform
agenda, particularly of the judiciary.

3. Urge the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police to
continue to coordinate their offers and engage in dialog to
achieve national stability, particularly in the riot-torn
province of Aceh. Push the government to abort any possible plan
for introducing martial law in Aceh.

4. Push local administrations to fully utilize the 1999 Law No.
22, on regional autonomy, for the development of regional
economies.

5. Push the government to prioritize the development of the
national education system and its quality.

6. Push the government to encourage non-Islamic schools to
provide religious education in accordance with the religion of
the students. The government should take action against non-
Islamic schools that fail to provide Islamic studies for Muslim
students studying there.