Who Is Amien Rais?

JAKARTA - Dr. H. Muhammad Amien Rais is an academic, politician and founder of the National Mandate Party (PAN). He also served as chairman of the party for the period 1998-2004. The figure of Amien Rais can be said to have played a key role in the struggle for the political atmosphere before and during the 1998 Reformation. The title Father of Reformasi was often attached to him, although there were many contra. He also played a role as the initiator of the Central Axis, a third-party coalition that included support from Islamic-based parties for the candidacy of KH Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) against Megawati Soekarnoputri. The Central Axis succeeded in bringing Gus Dur to become the 4th president of the Republic of Indonesia. For 5 years from 1999 to 2004, Amien Rais served as Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR-RI).

In 2004 he ran to run for president with Siswono Yudohusodo as his running mate. But this time luck was not on his side, Amien and Siswono were only in 4th place out of 5 presidential candidates with 17,392,931 votes, or 17 percent of all Indonesia.

The less internal conflicts he founded in the party that he founded did not reduce, causing Amien Rais to fall out of his post as Chairman of the National Mandate Party Advisory Board. Feeling no longer the same as the vision and mission of the party he had raised, Amien and his close loyalists chose to leave the management and pledged to form a new party that no longer used elements of PAN.

Amien Rais, who is known as a figure who has always been critical of the role of the government, has increasingly seen how his party (PAN) has tilted towards the status quo, Jokowi's administration in recent years.

"I and some of my friends are concerned about the recent development of the condition of our nation and country, that there is a need for a new party to emerge," Amien Rais, founder of the National Mandate Party.

Recapitulation of Amien Rais' activities in the national politics arena:

Chairman of Muhammadiyah for the period 1995-1998. Founded the National Mandate Party (PAN) in 1998, as well as served as Chairman of the party for the 1998-2005 period. Served as Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR-RI) for five years for the 1999-2004 period, which was then continued by Hidayat Nur Wahid from the Prosperous Justice Party Faction. On October 7, 1999 Amien Rais initiated the Central Axis, a coalition of Islamic-based parties to carry out the candidacy of KH Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) as a presidential candidate who challenged two other candidates; Megawati Soekarnoputri and BJ Habibie. The Central Axis Coalition resulting from Amien Rais' political attraction succeeded in delivering Gus Dur as the 4th president of Indonesia on October 7, 1999. With the final vote; 373 votes supported Gus Dur against 313 votes for Megawati Soekarnoputri. As a political compromise, Gus Dur included Megawati as Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia and listed herself as the first female vice president in the history of the Republic of Indonesia. Advancing the 2004 presidential election contestation as a presidential candidate accompanied by Siswono Yudohusodo as a vice presidential candidate. The duet, which is supported by 8 coalition parties, was only able to get 17,392,931 votes or 14.66 percent and was in fourth place out of five candidate pairs. Although the party formed by PAN, did not reach 10 percent in the 1999 elections, Amien Rais' role was very crucial in determining the position of president at the 1999 MPR General Session and 2001 Special Session.

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Who is Amien Rais

Amien Rais was born on 26 April 1944 in Surakarta, Central Java. He is the second of six children of the pair Syuhud Rais and Sudalmiyah. Since childhood, Amien Rais grew up in a family environment that was active in the Surakarta branch of the Muhammadiyah organization. Amien from 1969 to 1999 served as a lecturer at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Gadjah Mada University. In 1991 he entered the management of ICMI (Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association) as Assistant Chairman. It was only in 1995 that he was entrusted with the position of Chairman of the ICMI Expert Council.

His marriage to Kusnasriyati Sri Rahayu produced five children, most of whom were actively involved in politics, namely; Ahmad Hanafi Rais, Hanum Salsabiela Rais, Ahmad Mumtaz Rais, Tasnim Fauzia, and Ahmad Baihaqi.

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Amien Rais and the latest party

A year before the PAN Rakernas collapsed in December 2019, the internal situation of the party he had founded was heating up. The five founders of the National Mandate Party asked Amien Rais to resign from the involvement of party officials. Albert Hasibuan, Abdillah Toha, Goenawan Mohammad, Toeti Heraty and Zumrotin consider Amien Rais' role increasingly out of line with the principles of the party that was born in this reform era. At that time, Amien was accused of getting closer to the nuances of the New Order.

Amien responded to the accusation accompanied by an urge to resign half seriously by saying that the five figures were indeed supporters of the Jokowi administration, who were clearly at odds with him.

The grid of Amien's decreasing interest in his own party was revealed in May 2020. Asri Anas, former Chairman of the Regional Leadership Council of West Sulawesi PAN, said that the new party Amien and its loyalists will form has reached 70 percent of its readiness stage. Asri acknowledged that around 100 people would join Amien Rais' newest party.

The polarization of the two camps caused friction to occur in the extended family of Amien Rais. The name Hanafi Rais also left the PAN management, but Mumtaz's younger brother was still loyal to PAN.

Even Mumtaz dared to think that his parents were hallucinating through the PAN Reformasi breakthrough which would be established as a splinter party from PAN itself. Mumtaz also dared to challenge, if that happened and was filled by cadres from PAN itself, he would be ready to perform his vows.

"If indeed the PAN Hallucinations (read: PAN Reformasi) are actually formed and filled by only a quarter of our council members, which number around 1500, then I as the Chairperson of the POK DPP, the strong guard of the PAN fortress, will swim from Kapuk beach to Labuan Bajo. , as a form of give away. An offering from me, "said Mumtaz Rais.

What are the strong reasons for this Doctoral graduate who graduated from the University of Chicago to create a new party building by leaving the National Mandate Party, among others: the condition of the nation which indicates that it is on the verge of crisis. Social, political and economic malaise, an economy that is getting worse, gloomy, and could possibly lead to a severe recession towards depression. And the influence of the regime's power that the people expected yesterday, is even further away from noble moral, ethical, and moral values.

According to him, the newest party he will form in the near future is based on an agreement that prioritizes political ethics, including:

The new party he will establish is based on an agreement on struggle, ethics and togetherness in one party principle: Islam Rahmaatan Lil Alaamin. He clarified again that Islam prohibits discrimination on any basis. The party's motto which he claims is "Against Injustice, Uphold Justice". AD / ART until the identity of the logo cannot be officially released due to internal party provisions until a later date.

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Father of Reform and Central Axis Initiator

During the eruption of the Reformasi 98 tragedy, Amien Rais became one of the leaders of the movement. The peak of his maneuvers occurred on May 14, 1998 when he formed the People's Mandate Assembly (MAR) to gather political power against Soeharto's hegemony of power. After Soeharto's resignation, the work of Amien Rais and other figures opened the door to the democratic era of freedom of expression in this country. The term 'Father of Reform' is often pinned to him, while Fahri Hamzah and Prabowo Subianto agree, on the opposite side, Sri Bintang Pamungkas and Desmond Mahesa so that several activists who claim to have taken to the streets directly at that time rejected the term "Bapak Reformasi" for the figure of Amien Rais.

Amien Rais' ambivalent attitude shows how during the reform era he really wanted Prabowo Subianto to be at the Military Court, but turned intimate ahead of the 2009 and 2014 presidential elections by standing on Prabowo Subianto's side.

Amien Rais also led Gus Dur to become the 4th president of Indonesia through the initiation of the Central Axis Coalition. A coalition consisting of Islamic parties such as the National Mandate Party, the Justice Party, the National Awakening Party, the United Development Party, and the Cresril Ihza Mahendra Star Party.

Gus Dur served as president for 1 year and 9 months, from 20 October 1999 to 23 July 2001. Before being impeached due to the Buloggate and Bruneigate scandals, which Rizal Ramli denied through historical rectification, how did the court at that time fail to prove that Gus Dur was involved the scandal. The growing aroma of Gus Dur's impeachment partnership led to the names of Amien Rais and Megawati, although both parties denied it.

One of the domino effects of the Reformation tragedy, which was the role of Amien Rais, resulted in several important decisions initiated by the three presidents who succeeded Soeharto. Namely BJ Habibie, KH Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) and Megawati Soekarnoputri.

BJ Habibie's era: Law No.9 of 1998 on freedom of opinion in public. So that the mushrooming of parties participating in the 1999 election verified the presence of 41 out of 141 political parties born at that time. Establish 12 MPR decrees and there are 4 points of provision that reflect the answers to the demands for reform in the Gus Dur Era: Separating the roles of the TNI and the Police. The name West Irian became Papua. Abolition of the Ministry of Information and Ministry of Social Affairs. Presidential Decree 23 July 2001: Disbandment of the MPR / DPR. Returning sovereignty to the people by accelerating elections within 1 year. Freeze the Golkar party. Megawati Era: Formation of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Privatization of BUMN. Special Autonomy for Aceh and Papua. Postponing debt repayments and ending cooperation with the IMF. 2004 General Election with the presence of 24 political parties.

After Gus Dur's impeachment as president, Megawati Soekarnoputri's name automatically became president. The public's question finally turned to the names of Amien Rais and Megawati as figures who played a role in Gus Dur's downfall. Spoken directly through Gus Dur himself in an interview on Metro TV. When asked if he felt angry and resentful towards them, Gus Dur admitted that he had forgotten.

"Amien Rais and Megawati," said Gus Dur, the former 4th president of the Republic of Indonesia, when asked who was most responsible for his fall as president at that time.

"I'm not angry, the one who should be angry is this nation, they just ignore it, I don't want to make a fuss,"

Gus Dur

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Interesting facts Amien Rais bears the poorest presidential candidate. Amien Rais was one of the poorest in terms of capital when he ran for the presidential election with Siswono Yudohusodo in the 2004 presidential election. At that time, his wealth was only Rp. 867,955,230 and cash of US $ 13,700. Gus Dur became president thanks to Amien Rais' 'knee'. The remarks had a joking tone but contained hidden meanings when asked about the relationship between Amien Rais and Gus Dur's position as president. "I am surprised that people who are nominated for president are so bothered, they also have to use hundreds of billions of money," said Gus Dur, who shortly continued to say, "I used to be president only as a capital knee, that was Amien Rais' knee too,".

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Profile of Amien Rais

Full name H. Muhammad Amien Rais

Call Ammien

Profession Politician, Academician

Place and date of birth: Surakarta, Central Java, April 26, 1944

Islam

Parents Syuhud Rais and Sudalmiyah

Children Ahmad Hanafi Rais Hanum Salsabiela Rais Ahmad Mumtaz Rais Tasnim Fauzia Ahmad Baihaqi

Asset report IDR 1.01 billion (Chairman of the MPR-RI) IDR 867,955,230 plus US $ 13,700 (Presidential Candidate 2004)

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Education

Doctorate, Middle East Politics, University of Chicago, United States (1981-1984) Masters, Political Science, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, United States (1974) Tarbiyah Faculty, Sunan Kali Jaga State Islamic University, Yogyakarta (1969) Faculty of Social Affairs Politics, Gadjah Mada University (1968) Muhammadiyah Senior High School, Surakarta, Central Java Muhammadiyah Junior High School, Surakarta, Central Java Muhammadiyah Middle School, Surakarta, Central Java SD Muhammadiyah I, Surakarta, Central Java

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Career path

Chairman of the Honorary Council of the National Mandate Party (2015-2020) Chairman of the Honorary Council of the National Mandate Party (2010-2015) Chairman of the MPR-RI (1999-2004) General Chair of the National Mandate Party (1998-2005) General Chair of the Muhammadiyah Central Leadership (1995-2000) ) Member of Group V National Research Council (1995-2000) Senior Researcher at BPPT (1991) Director of the Center for Political Studies (1988) Deputy Chair of Muhammadiyah (1991) Chair of the Expert Council of the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (1995) Assistant to the Chair of the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (1991) -1995) Board of Muhammadiyah (1985) Lecturer of FISIP UGM, Yogyakarta, (1969-1999)

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