Go fly a kite

Go fly a kite

From Ummat magazine

Why does Abdurrahman Wahid (popularly known as Gus Dur) give the impression of wanting to be contrary? When the majority of the Muslim community cast aspersions on Theo Syafei, Gus Dur came to his defense, saying that Theo Syafei had his merits. When the Tanjung Priok incident erupted in 1984 and the Muslim community demanded the accountability of Benny Moerdani (also of Try Sutrisno and Soeharto), Gus Dur invited Moerdani to go to pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) to convince the Muslim community that the case was "purely criminal".

When the people wanted to sue Soeharto, Gus Dur discouraged them. He said it was dangerous because Soeharto had many followers who loved the former president so much they would create many riots if Soeharto was sued. When the people demanded the abolishment of the Armed Forces' dual function, Gus Dur said that if the dual function ceased to exist there would be stagnation in our national life.

Likewise in the case of East Timor. When the majority preferred East Timor to be separated from the Republic of Indonesia, Gus Dur took the opposite stance.

Apparently by acting this way, Gus Dur can soar into the air like a kite. And like a kite he has to go against the wind. Gus Dur is a big kite sailing at the end of its string, which is the NU community. Who then is the "intellectual actor" who handles the string?

If the string breaks, the kite will float in the air, but only for a while. Groups of people will fight to seize the kite. With luck the kite will remain whole and can be used again by other "intellectual actors". Otherwise, it will be in tatters and will just be discarded.

SUDADI SOEROPRANOTO

Jakarta