By Fatima Muhammad
Saudi Gazette
PEOPLE who kill others just because they believe in different values are “criminals,” said Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, former Indonesian president. He noted that Muslims, particularly the young generation, should be firm about linking any terrorist attacks to Islam. “The youth are in a better position to bring peace in any society,” Habibie told Saudi Gazette in an exclusive interview.
Habibie, the third president of Indonesia, attributed terrorism and instability in the region to “putting absolute and relative values in one basket; this has nothing to do with Islam.” Muslims, likewise, need to combat Islamophobia with vigor and zeal, he added.
Both Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, he said, want to achieve “a win-win cooperation for the two societies.” He added that this would be “the only way to ensure sustainable cooperation.”
Asked about his views on the Indonesian ban on domestic workers to come to Saudi Arabia he said “majority of people who come here are women and they have children. If they stay here for long who will take care of their children? I see that we are losing.”
On the domestic level, he said that Habibie Center in Indonesia has been established to ensure that democracy continues in Indonesia and that people become aware of it. Various seminars are organized by the center to discuss freedom and independence.
In response to a question about his evaluation of the status of Indonesia today he said: “Indonesia is on the right track to develop the human resource. It now has both independence and freedom to make any progress, to develop and to contribute to the economy.”
Asked about his intervention in Indonesian politics he said, “I am watching my children in power and I guide them but I am not commanding them. I give them the chance to develop and learn to be better than me.” He added: “Any father has one dream: that his children and grandchildren be better than him.”
The former president sounded concerned over the use of social media by the younger generation. “I am concerned about the young people who enjoy independence and freedom. Internet and YouTube are influencing the young generation by introducing values of other societies which might not be compatible with local beliefs,” he said.
The youth, constituting 60% of the population of his country, are the basis of development. “Empowering them starts at a very young age by providing them with an upbringing that depends on culture and belief in God in addition to education,” he said.
An aircraft engineer who developed this sector in Indonesia, Habibie believes in the power of technology. His country, he asserted, depends heavily on aviation products because there are many islands in the country and no other means of transport can be as efficient.
The former president now spends his mornings reading Qur’an and writing a book and watching some movies. Habibie has already published eight books and a number of movies. The most popular movie is Habibie and Ainun released in 2012. His book with the same name is a bestseller.
Former president Habibie, was educated in Germany before he was favored by Suharto to rule Indonesia for a year back in 1998. He is an influential tech-man in Indonesia.
