Muhammad Amien Rais (born 26 April 1944) is an Indonesian politician and conspiracy theorist.
Early life and education
Amien Rais was born in
Surakarta,
Central Java, as the second child of Suhud Rais and Sudalmiyah Rais. The couple were Muhammadiyah activists in
Surakarta. His father, Suhud Rais, graduated from Muhammadiyah's Mualimin high school. He worked in Surakarta's religion affairs office. He also was a member of Muhammadiyah's Board of Education in the Surakarta chapter. His mother, Sudalmiyah, was born in 1912 and was an activist in
Aisyiyah, a Muhammadiyah's women organization and had been its chairperson for 20 years.
She graduated from Muhammadiyah's teaching school 'Hogere Indlansche Kweekschool'. She was a member of
Masyumi party in the 1950s. She was awarded 'The Central Java Best Mother' in 1985 and died in 2001.
Activism career
After his studies in the
United States, he was a
Middle East specialist and was noted for being a critic of US foreign policy. Controversially, Rais learned a lot about human rights and democracy in the US. Amien Rais' activities in Muhammadiyah began in 1985 when he led The Council of Preacher (
Majelis Tabligh). Later in 1990, Rais was vice chairman elected in a convention (
muktamar) in Yogyakarta. Amien Rais was also active in the newly established Indonesian Association of Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI), a Muslim scholars association. Rais led ICMI's Expert Council, but resigned in 1997 under pressure from Suharto because he argued on the Busang and the
Freeport-McMoRan cases. In 1995, Rais replaced Azhar Basyir, then the chairman of Muhammadiyah, who died soon after his re-election. In 1993, at a Muhammadiyah mid-term meeting (
Tanwir) in
Surabaya, Rais urged a presidential succession, a very rare issue amid the New Order regime. The political and economical decay in Indonesia during the 90s had Rais call for a controversial issue: political reform. Amien Rais' calls were one of the many catalysts that led to the eventual downfall of the New Order regime. This made him enemy number one of the
Suharto administration.
Political career
Fall of Suharto
In 1998, Amien Rais became an outspoken critic, and allied himself with the reform movement. However, this would also force the New Order regime to ban any demonstration reflecting the people's voice regarding
Reformasi. In May 1998,
Jakarta was in chaos following rioting in some parts of the city. The army and the police forces were unable to handle the situation. Meanwhile, President Suharto embarked on a state visit to Cairo, Egypt. Upon his return from Cairo, Suharto learned that the situation was out of control. Several days later, he invited some prominent Muslim figures – including Abdurrahman Wahid, Emha Ainun Najib, Nurcholish Madjid and
Malik Fajar – to discuss the nation's current condition. Suharto proposed to establish a Reform Committee, to reshuffle the cabinet ministers and to resign from the presidency within 6 months. This was not responded to by those who attended the meeting. Suharto panicked as 14 of his ministers resigned from the cabinet. On 20 May, Amien Rais cancelled the mass rally to
Monas square as an army general threatened to make "another Tiananmen" should he do so. Less than 24 hours later, Suharto resigned from his office and was replaced by Vice President B.J. Habibie.
National Mandate Party
Amien Rais and other reformists established the National Mandate Party (
Partai Amanat Nasional/PAN) on 6 August 1998.
Amien Rais was elected its first chairman with
Faisal Basri as secretary general. Therefore, his position in Muhammadiyah was replaced by vice chairman Ahmad Syafi'i Maarif. PAN gained 6 percent of the vote in the 1999 election but failed to nominate Rais as a presidential candidate. However, political compromise allowed Amien to lead the People Consultative Assembly (MPR). As a kingmaker, Amien Rais and other Islam parties and
Golkar elected Abdurrahman Wahid as president and Megawati Sukarnoputri as vice president. Amien Rais was also a leading figure in the Indonesian constitution amendment process.
2004 Presidential election
Amien Rais ran and lost in the 2004 presidential election. He and running mate Siswono Yudo Husodo were nominated by PAN, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and some small political parties, and finished in the fourth place with 15% of the vote.
Ummah Party
On 1 October 2020, he formed a new party called Ummah Party (Indonesian:
Partai Ummat), which he claimed to "work and fight with fellow countrymen against tyranny and injustice".
Deputy chairman of PAN, Viva Yoga Mauladi, confirmed Amien's departure from the party.
Before leaving PAN, he was involved in internal rift with fellow party politicians over support for Jokowi's administration.
, Amien Rais' son-in-law, was appointed the party's inaugural chairman.
Other activities
Amien Rais is currently the Chairman of PAN's Advisory Board,
Muhammadiyah's Advisory Board, and is a
professor at Gadjah Mada University. One of the founders of PAN,
Abdillah Toha criticized him for his controversial statements and inconsistencies on many issues including his support on changing local elections to be indirect, and called him a "traitor of the Reform".
Controversies
In a corruption scandal trial of a former health minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, Amien Rais was reported to have received funds related the case. He admitted that he had received the funds but then accused the Corruption Eradication Commission of being an incompetent organization.
Published works
|
| 1977 | Bilik-bilik pesantren: sebuah potret perjalanan | Rooms of the Pesantren: A Journey Portrait | Paramadina |
| 1985 | Islam, Kemodernan, dan Keindonesiaan | Islam, Modernity, and Indonesianness | Mizan |
| 1992 | Bilik-Bilik Pesantren | Rooms of the Pesantren | Paramadina |
External links
