Mohammad Syafaat Mintaredja

Mohammad Syafaat Mintaredja
Mohammad Syafaat Mintaredja
7th Ambassador of Indonesia to Turkey
In office
8 November 1980 – 24 December 1983
PresidentSuharto
Preceded byNurmanli Aman
Succeeded byAbdulrachim Alamsjah
19th Minister of Social Affairs
In office
9 September 1971 – 29 March 1978
PresidentSuharto
Preceded byAlbert Mangaratua Tambunan
Succeeded bySapardjo
1st Chairman of the United Development Party
In office
5 January 1973 – 13 February 1978
PresidentSuharto
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byDjaelani Naro
Personal details
Born(1921-02-17)17 February 1921
Bogor, West Java, Dutch East Indies
Died20 October 1984(1984-10-20) (aged 63)
Jakarta, Indonesia
NationalityIndonesian
PartyUnited Development Party
Other political
affiliations		Parmusi
Alma mater
Occupation
Nicknames
  • Pak Mintaredja
  • Pendiri P3

Mohammad Syafaat Mintaredja (17 February 1921 – 20 October 1984) was an Indonesian politician and activist who was the founding father of the United Development Party, serving as its first chairman from 1973 until 1978. He was a leader of Parmusi and several organizations, including the Muslim Students' Association and Muhammadiyah.[1]

Early life and education

Born into a Muhammadiyah family, he studied at the Faculty of Law at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and the Faculty of Law at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from University of Indonesia. As a young man, he was active in Islamic Education Movement.

Along with several other people, he founded the Muslim Students' Association (Indonesia) based in Yogyakarta. He became the second chairman of HMI after Lafran Pane. He was also active in the Student Regiment, a civilian force trained and military prepared to defend the NKRI. During his time in the Student Regiment, he assisted the Indonesian National Armed Forces in fighting the Dutch Politionele acties and crushing the Communist Party of Indonesia rebellion in Madiun.[2]

Career

After being appointed as the chairman of the Indonesian Muslims' Party by President Suharto as part of the government's efforts to regulate the turbulent in Parmusi. During his leadership, Parmusi participated in the 1971 elections. At that time, the party received 2,930,746 votes (5.36%) and 24 seats in the House of Representatives (Indonesia), the third largest after Golkar and Nahdlatul Ulama.[3] He remained as its leader until the party merged on 5 January 1973, Mohammad Syafaat Mintaredja founded the United Development Party together with Idham Chalid, Anwar Tjokroaminoto, Rusli Halil, and Masjkur which was the result of a merger of four Islamic-based parties, namely Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesian Muslims' Party, Indonesian Islamic Union Party, and Islamic Education Movement With the combined results of the major Islamic-based parties, Ka'bah Party proclaimed itself as the Great House of the Islamic People.[4]

Mintaredja became the chairman of the Muslim Students' Association (Indonesia) starting on August 22, 1947, or 6 months after HMI was founded February 5, 1947.[5]

Mintaredja's first cabinet position was when he was appointed Minister of State for Government Relations with the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR/DPR-GR) and the Supreme Council (DPA) in the First Development Cabinet. The cabinet was formed on June 6, 1968, and inaugurated on June 10, 1968. On September 9, 1971, or 66 days after the 1971 Indonesian legislative election, a cabinet reshuffle was held. Several ministers were dismissed or reassigned. Mintaredja was also among those reassigned, as his previous field of work was eliminated after the reshuffle.[6] He assumed a new position as Minister of Social Affairs, replacing the previous official, Albert Mangaratua Tambunan.

Mintaredja became Chairman of Parmusi when the party was experiencing a sharp conflict within its ranks.[7] At that time, there was a conflict between the Djarnawi Hadikusumo group and the Djaelani Naro group. In such a situation, both conflicting parties handed over the leadership of the party entirely to President Suharto.[8] The President then intervened and resolved the problem by giving a party position to Mintaredja,[9] a Muhammadiyah figure who was serving as a state minister at the time.

The government saw that both parties agreed with the policies taken by the president at that time.[8] However, some consider that the events experienced by Parmusi were actually a form of intervention and engineering carried out by the New Order government against political parties, especially parties that carry religious aspirations (Islam), to control the life of the party.[7][10] Mintaredja's appointment as chairman was also seen as making Parmusi merely an accommodator of government policies, a stark contrast to the ideals of its founders, who hoped Parmusi would become a critical reincarnation of the Masyumi Party.[11] However, Mintaredja remained the party's leader until the party merged in 1973.

During Mintaredja's leadership, Parmusi participated in the 1971 Indonesian legislative election. At that time, the party received 2,930,746 votes (5.36%) and won 24 seats in the DPR, or the third largest after Golkar and Nahdlatul Ulama Party.[12]

Minister of Social Affairs

Mintaredja's first term as Minister of Social Affairs was from September 9, 1971, to March 28, 1973, in the post-reshuffle First Development Cabinet. At that time, he was still serving as the leader of Parmusi [2]

He held the position again in the Second Development Cabinet, from March 28, 1973, to March 29, 1978. One of the Ministry of Social Affairs' controversial initiatives during that period, specifically in 1974, was the introduction of a gambling system called "forecasting." The government even felt the need to send a team to England, where the system was first introduced, to study the gambling system. After two years of review, the Department of Social Affairs concluded that the forecast system is very simple and does not give the impression of mere gambling.[13][14] However, the implementation of this idea, in the form of Porkas Football Prize Coupons, was only officially launched, distributed, and sold eleven years later, on December 28, 1985, when Mrs. Nani Soedarsono was the Minister of Social Affairs.

United Development Party (PPP)

Main article: United Development Party

Mintaredja, as chairman of the Indonesian Muslims' Party (PARMUSI), was one of five PPP declarants on January 5, 1973.[15] The other four declarants were:

  • Idham Chalid, Chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama Party (NU)
  • Anwar Tjokroaminoto, Chairman of the Indonesian Islamic Union Party (PSII)
  • Rusli Halil, Chairman of the Islamic Education Movement (PERTI)
  • Masjkur, Chairman of the United Development Party in the House of Representatives (DPR) faction.

Subsequently, Idham Chalid, from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the most dominant group within the United Development Party (PPP), was appointed party president. This position was quite prestigious but less influential than Mintaredja's position as Chairman of the Central Executive Board (DPP).[16] President Suharto also approved the newly formed PPP leadership and expressed his gratitude because the fusion of former Islamic parties had fulfilled the MPR's decree[17] and was implemented effectively democratic.[18]

The next confrontation occurred during the 1977 Indonesian legislative election. At that time, there was coercion on the people by the military and civilian authorities to vote for Golkar, accompanied by violence against PPP campaigners.[16] However, the election results were quite satisfactory because the PPP won 29 seats,[19] meaning there were 5 additional seats compared to the previous election from parties that later merged into the United Development Party (PPP). The party even achieved a psychologically significant victory by defeating Golkar in the Special Capital Region of Jakarta and even securing an absolute majority in Aceh (formerly a stronghold of the Islamic Education Association).[16]

Mintaredja's great-grandson,[20] Alvaro Mintaredja, was seen to be active again representing the family in PPP since 2025 after the party did not pass into the House of Representatives (Indonesia) (DPR) in 2024 Indonesian Legislative Election for the first time in history.[21]

Mintaredja's last position in government after he was not re-elected as a minister in the Third Development Cabinet. The country where he served as ambassador until 1983 was Turkey.[22]

Publications

Throughout his life, Mintaredja wrote several books. The books, listed by year of publication, include:

  • 1968: Government and the Formation of the Indonesian Muslims' Party. Djakarta.
  • 1968: The Struggle of the Muslim Community Experiences a 25-Year Setback. Djakarta.
  • 1971: Reflections on the Renewal of Thought: Islamic Society and Politics in Indonesia. Jakarta: Permata.
  • 1974: A Reflection and Revision of Ideas: Islam and Politics. Islam and State in Indonesia. Siliwangi.
  • 1975: Rationalism versus Faith: Faith, Knowledge, and Deeds. Jakarta: Septenarius.
  • 1976: Islam and Politics, Islam and the State in Indonesia: A Reflection and Renewal of Thought. Jakarta: Septenarius.
  • 1977: The Young Generation from Age to Age. Jakarta: Septenarius.
  • 1977: Married Life and the Hajj. Tunas Jaya.

In his books, Mintaredja's moderate views on Islam are evident. He was an early critic of the desire to establish an Islamic state. This was not only because the Indonesian nation is diverse, but also because, according to him, there is no strong basis in the Qur'an and Hadith for establishing such a state. Mintaredja also criticized the Masyumi which placed too much emphasis on ideological issues and ignored economic and welfare issues which were actually equally important.[22] Apparently, this view was what enabled Mintaredja to enter the inner circle of the New Order (Indonesia) government, at least in its early periods.[23]

Personal life

Mohammad Syafaat Mintaredja had several children. His first child, Evac Syafruddin Mintaredja, decided not to follow in his father's footsteps and chose to start his career from the bottom. He became Head of the Media Bureau at the Ministry of State Secretariat under Vice President Jusuf Kalla.[24] Evac's son, Arie Syafriandi Mintaredja, also chose to become an entrepreneur, down to the fourth generation, Alvaro Rafi Syafaat Mintaredja.[25]

Honours

On 10 November 2006, the Government of Cimahi renamed ten streets in Cimahi City after local heroes. One of them, Jalan Akses Tol Baros (Baros Toll Access Street), was changed to Jalan HMS Mintaredja (HMS Mintaredja Street) to honor Mintaredja.[26][27]

References

  1. ^ Simanjuntak, Rico Afrido (2023-05-02). "Profil Mohammad Syafaat Mintaredja Ketua Umum Pertama PPP" (in Indonesian). Sindonews. Retrieved 2025-11-14.
  2. ^ a b "H.M.S. Mintaredja, HMI, dan Republik Indonesia".
  3. ^ "M.S. Mintaredja; Kiprah Juang dan Politisi Moderat".
  4. ^ Habibie, Nur (5 January 2019). "Peringati Harlah ke-46, PPP Ziarah ke Makam Para Pendiri Partai". liputan6.com (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  5. ^ Hariqo Wibawa Satria. "Lafran Pane's Thoughts on Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals" (PDF) (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  6. ^ "President Soeharto Reshuffles Cabinet [1]" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  7. ^ a b "Majelis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  8. ^ a b "President Soeharto Overcomes Parmusi Split" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  9. ^ Presidential Decree Number 77/1970 dated November 20, 1970
  10. ^ Olaf Herbert Schumann (1999). Religion in dialogue: enlightenment, reconciliation, and the future: Punjung tulis 60 tahun Prof. Dr. Olaf Herbert Schumann (in Indonesian). BPK Gunung Mulia. ISBN 978-979-415-832-6. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  11. ^ "Nahdlatul Ulama Becomes a Political Party" (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  12. ^ National Library of the Republic Indonesia. "1971 General Election" (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  13. ^ "From Porkas to SDSB" (in Indonesian). Suara Merdeka. Archived from the original on 2014-09-27. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  14. ^ "Serba-serbi Dunia Perjudian II" (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  15. ^ "PPP in the Course of History" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  16. ^ a b c Martin van Bruinessen (1994). NU: Tradition, Power Relations, the Search for a New Discourse (in Indonesian). Diterbitkan oleh LKiS Yogyakarta bekerjasama dengan Pustaka Pelajar. ISBN 978-979-8966-03-3. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  17. ^ "TAP MPRS No. XXII/MPRS/1966 Tahun 1966 tentang Kepartaian, Keormasan, dan Kekaryaan" (in Indonesian). hukumonline.COM. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  18. ^ "President Soeharto Gives Blessing to PPP Leadership[1]" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  19. ^ National Library of the Republic of Indonesia Indonesia. "1977 General Election" (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  20. ^ "Profil Mohammad Syafaat Mintaredja Ketua Umum Pertama PPP".
  21. ^ "Pertama dalam Sejarah, PPP Tak Lolos Senayan! Ini Kiprahnya di Pemilu".
  22. ^ a b "HMS Mintaredja Sosok Politisi Muhammadiyah". 18 February 2017.
  23. ^ "Mohammad Syafaat Mintaredja Meninggal dunia". Kompas. 1984-10-20. Archived from the original on 2014-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  24. ^ "Kalla Melayat Anak Buahnya".
  25. ^ "Sosok Alvaro Mintaredja, Cicit Mohammad Syafaat Mintaredja, Pendiri Partai Ka'bah yang Curi Perhatian Netizen".
  26. ^ "Nama-Nama Jalan Pahlawan di Cimahi Disosialisasikan" (in Indonesian). Bale Bandung. 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2025-11-14.
  27. ^ Sepuluh tokoh yang dijadikan nama jalan di kota Cimahi (in Indonesian). Government of Cimahi. 2015.
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