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.