22 Central Java PCNU Branches Back Gus Yusuf for PBNU Chairmanship
A total of 22 Nahdlatul Ulama branch boards (PCNU) in Central Java have requested that the caretaker of the API Tegalrejo Islamic Boarding School, KH Muhammad Yusuf Chudlori, known as Gus Yusuf, stand as a candidate for the chairmanship of the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU). The request was conveyed through a declaration as an aspiration of the branch administrators and senior clerics who desire a PBNU leadership that can embrace all elements of NU and return the organisation’s focus to serving the community and the institution.
The Chairman of the Semarang Regency PCNU, KH Ahmad Fauzan, representing the Central Java PCNUs, stated that the organisation needs a leadership that can become a unifying force, embracing all NU cadres and strengths without discriminating based on background, and fully reorient the organisation towards serving the community and the institution. He added that the branch administrators believe NU requires a calm leadership capable of maintaining balance amid internal dynamics, ensuring PBNU is not mired in conflict but instead strengthens services in education, Islamic boarding schools, health, economic empowerment, cadre development, and organisational strengthening down to the branch and sub-branch levels.
The declaration also emphasised the importance of a leadership that adheres to the principles of Ahlussunnah wal Jama’ah an-Nahdliyah, the Qanun Asasi, and the values and traditions of the NU founders. The administrators consider Gus Yusuf to have deep roots in the pesantren tradition, extensive organisational experience, and the ability to bridge various groups within NU. Gus Yusuf expressed his gratitude and asserted that the candidacy is a matter of trust, not position. He stated that if the senior clerics and the institution indeed wish for it and entrust him with the mandate, he is ready to carry it out to the best of his ability, stressing that the most important thing is for NU to be harmonious, solid, and focused on serving the community.
He conveyed that the NU Congress must be a momentum to strengthen unity, describing NU as a large shared Islamic boarding school. The congress, he said, should be a path to unite, not to divide, and whoever is entrusted with the mandate has the primary task of making NU more harmonious and delivering tangible benefits to the community. The declaration of support for Gus Yusuf was also attended by the Lirboyo Santri Alumni Association, IMAP Itiihadul Mutakhorijin Al-Falah Ploso, the Tegalrojo Islamic Boarding School Dormitory Alumni, and senior NU clerics from various regencies and cities in Central Java. The 22 PCNUs that requested Gus Yusuf to run and are ready to support him include Magelang Regency, Magelang City, Purworejo, Temanggung, Wonosobo, Sukoharjo, Boyolali, Karanganyar, Sragen, Cilacap, Salatiga, Demak, Kudus, Kendal, Semarang Regency, Tegal City, Tegal Regency, Pemalang, Batang, Pekalongan Regency, Wonogiri, and Surakarta City.