Abdurrahman warns ulemas not to drag NU into PPP

JAKARTA (JP): Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Chairman Abdurrahman Wahid warned some of his top leaders, who are busy discussing the upcoming election of the United Development Party (PPP), not to drag his Islamic organization into their political affairs.

"The law stipulates that NU is a religious organization while PPP is a political organization. The two have no formal links whatsoever," Abdurrahman was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying yesterday.

"Anyone who suggests that PPP represents Islam is betraying the law," he said.

His remarks came amidst increasing activity among many NU politicians who sit on various PPP boards, who are preparing their strategies to ensure that the PPP congress elects somebody from NU in the elections scheduled for late August.

PPP, the second largest political party, is the result of a fusion of four Islamic parties in 1972, the largest of which is NU. NU, frustrated that the PPP leadership has always eluded them, decided in 1984 to abandon party politics altogether and concentrate their activity to the promotion of Islamic education.

However, with the PPP election approaching, many NU leaders who have remained active in the PPP have tried once again to muscle their way into the party's leadership, albeit without the official blessing of Abdurrahman.

Capacity

"Politicians who happen to be NU members can indulge in politics, but don't drag the organization into the party," Abdurrahman said.

He added that any NU leaders still active in the party are there in their individual capacity.

In any case, there appeared to be a conflict even among NU politicians about who they were going to nominate at the upcoming PPP election, to contest the incumbent chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum, who appears to have won the support of the government.

The contest for the NU nomination has now narrowed down to Hamzah Haz (chairman of the PPP faction in the House of Representatives), Matori Abdul Djalil (PPP Secretary General), Karmani (A member of the Central Java Legislative Council representing PPP) and Jusuf Hasjim (a senior NU politician and a member of NU law making board).

A group of ulemas in East Java met in Surabaya early this week and agreed to push for the candidacy of Jusuf Hasjim. (emb)