Ansor elects new chairman<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Ansor, a youth organization under Nahdlatul
\nUlama (NU), has elected a new chairman who is regarded as more
\nneutral than his predecessor Slamet Effendy Yusuf.<\/p>\n
M. Iqbal Assegaf, considered a dark horse among the contenders
\nfor the post, was elected on the closing day of Ansor's congress
\nin Palembang, South Sumatra, on Thursday.<\/p>\n
In the last round of the election, the chairman of the
\nIndonesian Moslem Student Movement between 1988 and 1991 polled a
\ntotal of 105 votes, beating Choirul Anam who collected 90 votes
\nand Mujib Rahmat who got 40 votes.<\/p>\n
The six million strong Ansor has been estranged from NU in
\nrecent years chiefly because of personal differences between
\nSlamet and NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid.<\/p>\n
Slamet has been a member of the central executive board of
\nGolkar, the ruling political group, and he campaigned vehemently,
\nalbeit unsuccessfully, to unseat Abdurrahman at the NU election
\nlast December.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman has tried to steer NU on a neutral path in the
\nface of pressures from Golkar, the United Development Party and
\nthe Indonesian Development Party to solicit the support of its 35
\nmillion members in the run up to the 1997 election.<\/p>\n
At the just concluded Ansor congress, Abdurrahman and Slamet
\nset aside their differences when they appeared together in a
\nseminar, with Abdurrahman as the invited speaker and Slamet
\nacting as the moderator.<\/p>\n
In the seminar, Abdurrahman acknowledged that all the
\npolitical organizations are trying to court NU and its members
\nahead of the general election.<\/p>\n
He explained that while NU as an organization will stay
\nneutral, its members are free to support or join any of the
\npolitical organizations of their choice.<\/p>\n
Iqbal, who is a veterinarian by training, said after his
\ninauguration speech that one of the first things he will do as
\nchairman is visit the regions to consolidate the organization.
\n(emb).<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ansor-elects-new-chairman-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}