Minister of Religion Suryadharma Ali must be very distressed these days. His party had no say in the election of candidates for (vice-) presidency, was humiliated, and now its leader has been accused of corruption in the only rich section of the ministry, the organization of the hajj-pilgrimage.
SDA is the abbreviation of this minister, who studied at IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah at the time I was living there with my family as a foreign lecturer. I think that his name now will be known as Sama dengan yang di Atas or 'just the same as the predecessors'. Already in the 1960s a minister of religion was sent to prison for corruption: the first was K.H. Muhammad Wahib Wahab in 1962 (or was it his strong position against Communism?). Second was Said Agil Husein al Munawar (minister 2001-2004) who was involved in setting away money from the hajj business at special bank accounts.
Now we hear that SDA has been called in a case of corruption and had to resign from his position. What a sad photograph in the Jakarta Post! Repentence?
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