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.