Ansor elects new chairman

Ansor elects new chairman

JAKARTA (JP): Ansor, a youth organization under Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU), has elected a new chairman who is regarded as more
neutral than his predecessor Slamet Effendy Yusuf.

M. Iqbal Assegaf, considered a dark horse among the contenders
for the post, was elected on the closing day of Ansor's congress
in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Thursday.

In the last round of the election, the chairman of the
Indonesian Moslem Student Movement between 1988 and 1991 polled a
total of 105 votes, beating Choirul Anam who collected 90 votes
and Mujib Rahmat who got 40 votes.

The six million strong Ansor has been estranged from NU in
recent years chiefly because of personal differences between
Slamet and NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid.

Slamet has been a member of the central executive board of
Golkar, the ruling political group, and he campaigned vehemently,
albeit unsuccessfully, to unseat Abdurrahman at the NU election
last December.

Abdurrahman has tried to steer NU on a neutral path in the
face of pressures from Golkar, the United Development Party and
the Indonesian Development Party to solicit the support of its 35
million members in the run up to the 1997 election.

At the just concluded Ansor congress, Abdurrahman and Slamet
set aside their differences when they appeared together in a
seminar, with Abdurrahman as the invited speaker and Slamet
acting as the moderator.

In the seminar, Abdurrahman acknowledged that all the
political organizations are trying to court NU and its members
ahead of the general election.

He explained that while NU as an organization will stay
neutral, its members are free to support or join any of the
political organizations of their choice.

Iqbal, who is a veterinarian by training, said after his
inauguration speech that one of the first things he will do as
chairman is visit the regions to consolidate the organization.
(emb).