DO not ever take Muhammadiyah into practical politics again. Din—who was elected for the second time as chairman at the conference in Yogyakarta last week—should learn from the past.

Din and the new Muhammadiyah managers surely have not forgotten several past incidents. Amien Rais, who formed the National Mandate Party in 1998, while still central chairman, was only able to lead the party to fifth place, winning 34 of the 462 seats in the Ho