Cak Nur invites Susilo and his predecessors to meet

Cak Nur invites Susilo and his predecessors to meet

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Although still recuperating from the lingering effects of a major
life-saving operation, prominent Muslim scholar Nurcholish "Cak
Nur" Madjid is set to make a return to the political scene.

Cak Nur, who is confined to a wheelchair, has invited
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his predecessors Soeharto,
B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, and Megawati
Soekarnoputri to attend an event on Monday aimed at "saving the
national commitment".

The meeting, hosted by the Cak Nur-founded Paramadina
University, is scheduled for Monday at around 7 p.m. at the
National Archives Building in Central Jakarta.

The organizer hopes that the former presidents will put aside
their differences and their varying political backgrounds in
attending the event to strengthen national unity.

Since assuming office in October last year, Susilo has met all
the former presidents, except for Megawati, who leads the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Megawati lost last year's direct presidential election to
Susilo, who formerly served in her Cabinet as chief security
minister. However, she refused to congratulate Susilo on his
victory, nor did she attend his inauguration ceremony.

PDI-P secretary-general Pramono Anung could not say whether
Megawati would attend the event on Monday.

"I have received an invitation and will personally attend, but
I don't dare to speculate if Mbak Mega will also attend," he told
The Jakarta Post. "I have not had any communication with her on
this matter."

However, the organizer was optimistic that Megawati would show
up.

Yudi Latif, from Paramadina University, said that so far only
Habibie had confirmed he would not attend as he is in Germany.

"We have received positive responses from all of them (the
former presidents)," he said as quoted by Antara. "Hopefully, the
positive responses will be translated into their attendance."

Latif said that Cak Nur would deliver a speech on nationalism
during the event.

Cak Nur has been out of the public eye since being diagnosed
with liver failure in 2004. He has spent almost a year recovering
from a series of operations, which included a life-saving liver
transplant in China.