Out with the old: Amien piles pressure on Yudhoyono

Wahyoe Boediwardhana ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Malang, East Java   |  Tue, 05/27/2008 3:16 PM  |  National

Former People's Consultative Assembly speaker Amien Rais seems to have plenty of energy to spare to talk tough on the multiple crises the country is facing, for which he partly blames the government.

Speaking at a seminar at the Malang Muhammadiyah University held Monday to commemorate the centennial of National Awakening Day, Amien called on the nation's youth to take the lead and replace the old generation currently in power.

Amien said young leaders would be more courageous and firmer than the aging national leaders of today, particularly when it came to challenging foreign powers who seek to control the country's natural resources.

"There must be an overhaul of national leadership. They must be replaced with fresh faces who dare to take a stand and act firmly," Amien said.

He added the current national leadership was demonstrating a persistent "inlander" mentality, little better than being the lackey of a colonial government, for their failure to stop foreign investment in strategic industries.

Indonesia's next presidential election is in July next year. Several familiar faces have announced their intention to run for president, including National Awakening Party's Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's Megawati Soekarnoputri, People's Conscience Party's Wiranto, former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso and the Golkar Party's Akbar Tandjung.

Neither President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono nor Vice President Jusuf Kalla has publicly declared his intention to join the race, despite their popular support.

Amien, who also ran in the 2004 election, was embroiled in a personal spat with Yudhoyono in May last year. The quarrel revolved around Amien's accusation that Yudhoyono received money from overseas and from former fisheries and maritime affairs minister Rokhmin Dahuri.

Amien had previously publicly admitted that he himself had accepted Rp 200 million from Rokhmin, who was eventually sentenced to seven years for graft.

The squabble ended after a 12-minute talk at Halim Perdanakusuma airport, just before Yudhoyono left for a trip to Malaysia.

There has been no formal investigation into Amien's involvement in the Rokhmin case.

Amien stopped short Monday of making a second bid for the presidency.

"I'm already old, but it depends on whether the young people want to nominate me," the former National Mandate Party leader said.

In fact, his successor at the party, Soetrisno Bachir, is intensively campaigning himself. His advertisement appears on television almost every day, as well as in other media.

Since leaving his position as assembly speaker in 2004, Amien has emerged as a critic of the government.

A senior government official hit back at Amien, saying the public would not easily accept his criticisms because of his history.

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