Will Hamzah change his modest ways?

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of Hamzah Haz's neighbors found many changes at his private house in narrow Jl. Tegalan, Pal Meriam, East Jakarta, but many questioned whether the new Vice President would change his modest ways.

Known as a devoted Muslim, Hamzah always attends a mass prayer at the mosque he founded in front of his house whenever he is at home. Hamzah has lived there since 1981.

"Pak Hamzah is a religious man. He always prays five times a day," one of the neighbors, Sofiah, said.

One of his friends in his childhood, Agusno Sumantri, said Hamzah never forgot to chant Koranic verses at night.

Hamzah says that he goes to bed right after watching TVRI's 9 p.m. world news, and wakes up at 2:30 a.m. for a morning prayer. Then he will jog or go to the market with his wife, where he will talk with the people he represents.

Born in the West Kalimantan district of Ketapang on Feb. 15, 1940, Hamzah, who always looks neat in his safari suit and slicked-back hair, usually hidden under a black peci cap, never dreamt of becoming the vice president.

He learned from his father, a contractor, a lot of lessons in how to run a business. For this reason, he attended the Senior Economic High School in Ketapang.

After graduating from the school in 1960, Hamzah joined Bebas, a newspaper in the West Kalimantan capital of Pontianak. A year later he became a teacher at Cooperative High School in Ketapang, which sent him to the State Cooperative Academy in Yogyakarta. Upon his return to Pontianak in 1965, he enrolled at Tanjungpura University's School of Economics, where he earned his BA in corporate management.

One of his seven siblings who lives in Pontianak, Basarudin Haz, described his eldest brother as a hero, saying that Hamzah always educated him to become independent.

Their father Abdul Hadi Ahmad has already passed away, but their mother, Zainab, currently lives with Hamzah in Jakarta.

Basirudin cited an example of how he began his travel agency business several years ago with strong support from Hamzah.

"I opened this business with his guidance," Basaruddin told Antara.

Hamzah's long acquaintance with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization, rewarded him the trust that catapulted him to the House of Representatives in 1971.

His political career, however, began in 1968 when he was elected to the Provincial Legislative Council representing Golkar, although he never dropped his membership in NU.

He quit Golkar after the governor refused to install him to the council speaker post that he had won. Senior councillor Soewardi Puspojo from the Armed Forces faction was awarded the post after a year's standoff.

His illustrious political career continued even after NU merged with other Muslim-based parties into the United Development Party (PPP) in 1973, following president Soeharto's decision to simplify the multiparty system into a three-party one.

Hamzah retained his legislative seat at the House of Representatives representing PPP until then President B.J. Habibie appointed him state minister of investment in May 1998.

Throughout his 30 years in public life, Hamzah has always sat on the committee which dealt with the state budget. His expertise was proven by the fact that much of his analysis was seen in leading dailies, such as Kompas.

He capped his political career when he won the top post in PPP in December 1998, beating closest rival A.M. Saefuddin in a vote.

Some may consider Hamzah an opportunist for his previous stance during the run-up to the October 1999 presidential election, as his party, along with Muslim-based parties allied in the Axis Force, rejected the notion of a woman leading the country, arguing that "women are not meant to become presidents". (prb/amd)