Generational rift emerges in NU<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Intense competition for the millions of votes from members of
\nthe Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama has led to calls for
\nneutrality by the youth affiliates ahead of the country's
\npresidential election.<\/p>\n
In a bid to prevent NU \"from breaking apart\" -- in the words
\nof one scholar -- the Fatayat organization representing NU's
\nfemale youth and the NU student association (IPNU), which
\ntogether claims over half of the NU's membership, called on
\nmembers to refrain from campaigning for any of the five
\ncandidates.<\/p>\n
\"As the young generation of NU, we are deeply concerned about
\nthe organization's unity. We hope all NU figures contesting the
\nelection can teach people about democratic fairness, instead of
\nprovoking disputes among the followers,\" IPNU secretary general
\nSyamsuddin M. Pay said.<\/p>\n
IPNU claims some 17 million members while Fatayat claims 4
\nmillion of the 40 million NU members.<\/p>\n
Prior to the month-long campaigning period starting on June 1,
\nmajor political parties had vied for NU figures as running mates,
\nas NU membership reaches the villages through the influential
\nkyai (clerics) system.<\/p>\n
The result is that NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi is the running
\nmate to the Megawati Soekarnoputri, nominated by the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and Solahuddin Wahid from
\nthe National Awakening Party (PKB) -- set up by NU leaders -- is
\npaired with Gen. (ret) Wiranto, the candidate from the Golkar
\nParty.<\/p>\n
Jusuf Kalla, the running mate of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
\nalso is a prominent NU member, as is presidential candidate
\nHamzah Haz who has been nominated by the Muslim-based United
\nDevelopment Party.<\/p>\n
Ahead of most previous elections, NU's traditional apolitical
\nstance has often been challenged; however the first direct
\npresidential could lead to a more severe rift given the direct
\ninvolvement of NU figures in the competition for the country's
\ntop seats.<\/p>\n
Fatayat and IPNU called on members to vote for the candidates
\n\"who are capable of leading the country to a better future.\"
\nMembers should prevent NU from being affected by \"politicking\"
\nwithin NU, they said.<\/p>\n
IPNU also urged members to cast their votes only for the
\npairing \"that is concerned with improving national education\",
\nregardless of their affiliation to NU.<\/p>\n
Syamsuddin said the group, which planned to hold a three-day
\nnational meeting in Riau from June 15 to June 18, would ask all
\ncandidates to sign \"a political contract\" promising improvement
\nof education, including a 20 percent budget allocation for the
\nsector.<\/p>\n
\"We won't necessarily endorse them on the spot, but we will
\nconsider voting for a candidate that will be pro-education, even
\nif they are not from NU,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fatayat chairperson Maria Ulfa Ansor said the organization
\nwould ensure freedom to vote for its members and that gender
\ndiscrimination should be put aside.<\/p>\n
She, however, emphasized that such a call should not be seen
\nas a political support to a certain candidate. A recent statement
\nby clerics in East Java that it was forbidden under Islam to vote
\nfor women has been taken as a verbal edict, raising suspicions
\nthat the kyai were targeting Megawati. The clerics have denied
\nthey issued an edict saying they were reacting to journalists'
\nquestions about their endorsement of Wiranto.<\/p>\n
Since the first day of campaigning, all NU figures among the
\ncandidates have visited various Islamic boarding schools
\n(pesantren) and held mass prayers.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the NU's women's wing Muslimat, also called on
\nmembers to refrain from campaigning for candidates, and that they
\nshould resign if they were involved in the campaign teams.<\/p>\n
A scholar of NU, Sjafik Anwar of the International Conference
\non Islamic Pluralism (ICIP), said that the gap between the top NU
\nfigures and its youth groups had widened following the
\ninvolvement of its top figures in the July election.<\/p>\n
\"The youth groups are moving to secure the organization, to
\nprevent it from breaking apart, and they aim to steer NU back to
\nits basics as a socio-cultural organization.<\/p>\n
\"I wish NU's law making body, the syuriah, would immediately
\novercome the problem by clarifying its stance,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/generational-rift-emerges-in-nu-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}