News
ICMI expected to serve as "adhesion" for all political parties
Selasa, 7 Desember 2010 | 05:41 WIB
Bogor, NU Online
A top adviser of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) said ICMI was not a political organization.
But its cadres could be found in various political parties so that they were expected to function as an "adhesion" of all parties, Chairman of ICMI's Advisory Council (2005-2010) Prof. Dr. Jimly Asshiddiqie told newsmen on the sideline of the organization's fifth congress here Monday evening.<<>br />
He said ICMI's cadres could be found in various political parties. But they were asked to prevent ICMI from plunging into "a trap of short-term interest".
Therefore, as intellectuals, they need to keep encouraging the nation to think of the country`s long-term interest, he said.
"The task of intellectuals is a moral guidance and encouraging (our people) to be visionary for the sake of the nation`s future," he said.
In this connection, ICMI could play three functions, namely as a source of ideas, a place for creating cadres, and being active in action programs, he said.
Spokesman for the ICMI's fifth congress steering committee, Dr.Arif Budimanta, said the congress' participants would elect a new leader without any special preference for either a political or non-political figure.
"It does not matter if the elected figure (for ICMI's 2010-2015 presidium chairman) is a politician as long as we make a code of conduct that prohibits him or her to use ICMI to serve his or her political party`s interest," he said over the weekend.
Budimanta, deputy secretary of ICMI's fifth congress steering committee, further said whatever the figure's background was, the elected leader had to have a clear commitment.
ICMI's elected leader should remain committed to advancing civilization through the power of ideas, sciences, discoveries, and innovations, he said.
Therefore, there was no need to debate whether ICMI's elected leader should be a politician or not because its leadership election was a "contest of ideas, not a race to gain political power," he said.
ICMI is currently led by a presidium whose members consist of Marwah Daud Ibrahim, Muslimin Nasution, Nanat Fatah Natsir, Azyumardi Azra, and Hatta Rajasa.
ICMI's three-day congress was participated in by 1,200 cadres from all over the country.
ICMI was founded on December 7, 1990. During the Soeharto era, ICMI was one of the powerful organizations. Its first chairman was former president BJ Habibie. (dar)
A top adviser of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) said ICMI was not a political organization.
But its cadres could be found in various political parties so that they were expected to function as an "adhesion" of all parties, Chairman of ICMI's Advisory Council (2005-2010) Prof. Dr. Jimly Asshiddiqie told newsmen on the sideline of the organization's fifth congress here Monday evening.<<>br />
He said ICMI's cadres could be found in various political parties. But they were asked to prevent ICMI from plunging into "a trap of short-term interest".
Therefore, as intellectuals, they need to keep encouraging the nation to think of the country`s long-term interest, he said.
"The task of intellectuals is a moral guidance and encouraging (our people) to be visionary for the sake of the nation`s future," he said.
In this connection, ICMI could play three functions, namely as a source of ideas, a place for creating cadres, and being active in action programs, he said.
Spokesman for the ICMI's fifth congress steering committee, Dr.Arif Budimanta, said the congress' participants would elect a new leader without any special preference for either a political or non-political figure.
"It does not matter if the elected figure (for ICMI's 2010-2015 presidium chairman) is a politician as long as we make a code of conduct that prohibits him or her to use ICMI to serve his or her political party`s interest," he said over the weekend.
Budimanta, deputy secretary of ICMI's fifth congress steering committee, further said whatever the figure's background was, the elected leader had to have a clear commitment.
ICMI's elected leader should remain committed to advancing civilization through the power of ideas, sciences, discoveries, and innovations, he said.
Therefore, there was no need to debate whether ICMI's elected leader should be a politician or not because its leadership election was a "contest of ideas, not a race to gain political power," he said.
ICMI is currently led by a presidium whose members consist of Marwah Daud Ibrahim, Muslimin Nasution, Nanat Fatah Natsir, Azyumardi Azra, and Hatta Rajasa.
ICMI's three-day congress was participated in by 1,200 cadres from all over the country.
ICMI was founded on December 7, 1990. During the Soeharto era, ICMI was one of the powerful organizations. Its first chairman was former president BJ Habibie. (dar)
