GP Ansor Closes National Leadership Training, Pledges Smooth NU Congress

The 2026 Hajj pilgrimage, the first major undertaking by the newly established Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, has recently concluded. Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Central Executive Board of Gerakan Pemuda Ansor (GP Ansor), Addin Jauharudin, has affirmed his organisation’s readiness to ensure the 35th Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Congress runs smoothly. He made the statement at the closing of the 11th National Leadership Training (PKN) in 2026, held at the Tambakberas Islamic Boarding School in Jombang, the venue for the upcoming NU Congress. The training was previously opened at the Bumi Sholawat Progresif Islamic Boarding School in Sidoarjo. According to Addin, Tambakberas is the pesantren that produced KH Wahab Hasbullah, the initiator of Nahdlatul Ulama and the founder of GP Ansor. “Mbah Wahab was not only the founder of NU but also the founder of Ansor. We have undertaken a spiritual bicycle journey from Bangkalan to Jombang. Our hope is that Ansor will become the driving force of the organisation, following the example of Mbah Wahab. Moreover, it is our responsibility, Ansor and Banser, to ensure the congress proceeds safely and successfully,” Addin stated. He stressed that cadre development is the organisational anchor that secures new aspirations amidst changing times and the diversity of its members. “Ansor is an open home; we can realise any dream. An organisation is where hopes gather. Going forward, all Ansor instruments and structures must be present with their new capabilities,” he asserted. Addin also assessed that future challenges for Ansor are intensifying, warning that Indonesia may face a society devoid of values and even organisations. “How do we mobilise people with our ideas and work, even without physical movement? A leader is a leader of ideas,” he remarked. In driving cadre capacity, Addin underlined that the key to economic prosperity is the quality of human resources. He concretely instructed the structure to massively build independent training schools to create new job opportunities. “There must be no idle land or people. All assets must be managed optimally. That is the function of leadership,” he said. Deputy Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Regulation, Aminuddin Ma’ruf, who is also an Ansor cadre, emphasised that major transformation must be rooted in integrity of intention and sharpness of vision. He analysed how institutions like state-owned enterprises have undergone radical streamlining, simplifying their portfolio from 1,074 entities to around 281 by 2026 for efficiency and lean governance. “A large organisation must not get trapped in internal bureaucratic complexity that obscures its primary mandate. The same applies to GP Ansor,” Amin stated.