Fair play and NU
Fair play and NU
Curious is probably the most appropriate way to describe the "grand congress" of the "Coordinating Board for the Executive Board of Nahdatul Ulama" (KPPNU) -- the rival leadership board within Nahdatul Ulama (NU) -- which opened yesterday at the Haj Dormitory in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta.
To freshen our memories: The KPPNU, led by affluent businessman Abu Hasan, was established in January last year after the 1994 NU congress in Cipasung, West Java. During the Cipasung congress Abu lost the chairmanship race to the incumbent chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, a controversial and vocal critic of the government. Abu established the rival board after he was excluded from Abdurrahman Wahid's leadership board.
Two leadership boards are now vying for influence within NU, which has a reported membership of around 30 million. The government, as stated by Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M., Minister of Defense and Security Gen.(ret.) Edi Sudradjat and other officials, officially supports the legitimately elected Abdurrahman Wahid. Observers, however, point out that Abdurrahman, up until now, has not been received by President Soeharto, which is widely taken to mean that he does not have the head of state's blessing.
Still, government officials, from cabinet ministers on down, have been careful to distance themselves from both the KPPNU and its present congress in Jakarta. A spokesman for the Minister of Home Affairs told reporters that the government proved its position by refusing to issue a permit for the KPPNU officials to hold the meeting.
Despite the lack of an official permit, the meeting has been allowed to proceed, contrasting sharply with the difficulties experienced by the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI), the East Java chapter of the Indonesian Democratic Party and other groups wanting to organize gatherings. Although KPPNU officials have said that the event was organized simply to "pray and talk about religious matters", the fact is that political concerns, such as a proposal to hold a special NU congress, were put on the agenda.
Under the circumstances it is not surprising that questions and speculation are circulating among the public. There is the impression that NU's rival board has been granted certain privileges, which gives credence to the assumption that the government is aiding Abu Hasan in his efforts to unseat Abdurrahman Wahid.
We believe the government would be wise to issue an official explanation to clarify its stand and to remove any accusations of favoritism. At stake is not only the future of NU, but the credibility of the government as well.
It is time that we recognize the emergence of a new generation of Indonesians, a generation of young Indonesians who are better educated, more critical in their thinking and more independent in their attitudes -- a generation to whom fair play matters.