Depok, NU Online
Culturalist Mohamad Sobary called on all members of the Indonesian Muslim Students Movement (PMII) to play their intellectual role by building a culture of militancy and solidarity to care about others, especially to deal with the nation and people's interests from any threat posed by foreign parties.

The statement was made by Sobary on the sidelines of a fast-breaking gathering held by PMII of Indonesian University at Kafe Protein, Center for Japanese Studies on Saturday (4/8).

According to Sobary, currently foreign hands have undermined the potential of the nation's sovereignty so that Indonesian people especially the poor would be defenseless and even die slowly and painfully.

"The intellectuals like PMII (individuals) have to make a cultural movement to safeguard the sovereignty and the interests of ordinary people, for example, by shopping at the stalls and small shops owned by the people instead of foreign-owned large retailers," said the former Director of Antara News Agency

Some 50 PMII alumni and UI students attending at the occassion responded to the Sobary's call with enthusiasm. Sumantri Suwarno, an alumnus of UI's PMII added that the bureaucracy was the most responsible for any effort aimed at exacerbating and undermining the the nation's sovereignty.

"Indonesia is like an orphan abandoned by its government," said Sumantri who graduated from the Department of Management, Faculty of Economics, UI, adding almost all of the nation's assets had so far been controlled by foreign parties.

Present at the gathering were Avianto Muhtadi (Chairman of the NU Institute for Disaster Management), Achmad Suaedy (Director of Abdurahman Wahid Center UI), Dr. Padang Wicaksono (UI Lecturer), Khalid Syaerazy (Secretary of NU Students Association), Amsar Dulmanan (PMII), Abdul Shakir (Ansor) and a number of senior figures and former chairmen of PMII such as Mahrus Ali, Iqbal Syaryudin, Achmad Solechan, Kartini Laras Makmur, Abdurrahman and Woro Hidayat.

Writer : Mukafi Niam
Editor : Sudarto Murtaufiq