Ahead of NU Congress, Student Alumni Group Highlights Polarisation
Democracy must not be controlled by groups wielding financial power.
The Alumni Association of the Indonesian Islamic Student Movement, University of Indonesia (IKA PMII UI), is closely monitoring the intensifying conflict between competing candidate factions ahead of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Congress, particularly the polarisation regarding the selection of the Congress venue.
IKA PMII UI expressed concern over the polarisation between the two camps and is calling for an alternative figure, free from the current conflicts, to run for the position of General Chairperson of the Executive Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU).
“The public and laypeople find it difficult to understand how factions within NU struggle to agree on non-fundamental matters such as the location of the congress. This harms NU’s image in the eyes of the public,” explained the Chairman of IKA PMII UI, Alfanny, on Thursday (2/7).
“The prolonged polarisation and the lack of a consensus up to this point have prompted IKA PMII UI to encourage the emergence of a new figure who is not involved in the current conflict,” he asserted.
The figure proposed by IKA PMII UI is a young NU leader, Hery Haryanto Azumi, commonly known as Gus Hery.
“Gus Hery is one of the young NU figures worthy of leading the PBNU. In addition to having previously served as the General Chairperson of the PB PMII, Gus Hery possesses extensive networking capabilities and a clear vision for the future of NU amidst the national and global geopolitical constellation,” continued Alfanny, who also previously served as the Vice Chairman of PW GP Ansor DKI Jakarta.
Alfanny hopes that Gus Hery, or whoever eventually leads the PBNU, will prioritise human resource development within the NU organisation.
“The PMII UI alumni initiated the ‘NU 1st Century Vision’ back in 2013, which produced the NU Human Development Trilogy: Education, Health, and Culture,” he noted.
“We hope that Gus Hery, or whoever becomes the next General Chairperson of PBNU, shares a similar vision,” Alfanny concluded.
Internal dynamics within the top ranks of the Executive Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) continue to draw significant attention from the grassroots members (nahdliyin). The uncertainty regarding the location of the 35th NU Congress is viewed by some as an internal political manoeuvre ahead of the PBNU leadership succession scheduled for August 2026.