Law Makers To Endorse Shariah Amendment In Indonesia

KUALA LUMPUR, August 4 (IslamOnline) - Pro-Shariah supporters, who demonstrated in the streets of Jakarta on Saturday, may have won their cause with the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) likely to endorse the fourth amendment to the Constitution, news sources in Jakarta said.

Antara news agency reported that the MPR had chosen pro-constitutional reform legislators to form the commission to debate on the crucial issue. Their decision will lead to the implementation of the Shariah in the ages old secular and nationalist constitution.

Other news reports said only 20 of the 239 strong Commission was against the amendment, voicing the opinion of President Megawati Sukarnoputri who opposes these amendments.

Legislator Suwignyo of Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI P), one of lawmakers, who initiated opposition to the amendment, said on Saturday the group would show vocal opposition to the Shariah.

"Although we are small in number, we will keep voicing our views," Suwignyo said.

Suwignyo claims to have won support from 110 PDI legislators. The group earlier claimed that legislator Taufik Kiemas, who is the husband of President Megawati Sukarnoputri, threw his weight behind the move, the Jakarta Post added.

However, the PDI on Friday asserted its support for the amendment process as far as it did not change the preamble of the 1945 Constitution.

Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tanjung underlined that his party supported constitutional reform, urging the MPR to go ahead with the amendment.

"Just pass the amendment. If there are some flaws, we can fix them during the next constitutional amendment," said Akbar, who is also speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR).

Indonesia will be the first country in the region to adopt the Shariah, which is part of the Muslim laws. Malaysia’s opposition Islamic Party (PAS) in Terengganu voted the Hudud, which is part of the Islamic Shariah, in July.

Terengganu became the second state in the Malaysian peninsular to adopt the Hudud after Kelantan, which is also under the rule of the Islamic opposition.

Indonesia is the largest Muslim country on earth with a population of 212 million, 85% to 90% of which are Muslims according to latest census.

During the past few weeks, there were strong opposition to the Shariah in pro-Megawati presses in Jakarta. They reflected the views of Singapore newspapers that insisted Shariah did not have its place in Indonesia.

Singapore is a majority Chinese Island nation. It feels uncomfortable with the Islamic surge in both Indonesia and Malaysia, advising its Muslim neighbors not to adopt “extreme” Islamic measures.

Its Chief Minister Lee Kuan Yew once said that the prospects of Islamic parties ruling Malaysia (and Indonesia in the process) would force Singapore leaders to sleep with the eyes open, fearing Islamic fundamentalism would bring instability to the region.

Despite the fact that the two largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the Muhamadiyah have voiced their concern over the adoption of the Shariah in Indonesia, the voice on the streets seemed different.

“The thousands of people who demonstrated on Saturday were a living proof that the Indonesians are pro-Shariah to a large extent. They expect the MPR to deliver and to change the constitution that has suppressed Islam for decades” Masturi Ahmad told IslamOnline.

Ahmad, who writes books on Islam in Indonesian language, said the MPR has to opt in favor of the amendments since Islam was not oppressive and offered a better alternative to the existing laws.

“The decades of oppression against the Muslims, forcing women to throw away their scarves and the jailing of Islamic leaders just because they were opposed to General Suharto is evidence that the constitution failed to guarantee the freedom of expression of Indonesians…” Ahmad added.

He believes the amendment will allow Islam to prosper under the new democratic system in Indonesia.

“The Muslims have nothing to be afraid of, they have to abide by the Shariah if they are true Muslims. As for non-Muslims, they have nothing to lose. The Shariah will not touch them in the first place,” he said.

The debate on the constitutional amendment heightened after the military suggested that the country revert to the 1945 Constitution if the current amendment process ended in deadlock.

Many feared the return to the old constitution would encourage authoritarianism, which would be counter to the current reform movement.