Guess What? Gus Dur

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who chaired the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), for 15 years, is often assumed by some people to have supernatural powers.

When he spoke on Tuesday in Yogyakarta at a public dialog organized by activists from the student magazine Pijar from Gadjah Mada University's School of Philosophy, in cooperation with Internet journal site Gusdurnet.com, a student enthusiastically asked him if his walking stick was invested with supernatural powers.

"I have twice changed my walking stick. My first stick was broken into three pieces when a group from NU's security task force Banser rushed to shake hands with me in Banten. And this stick I'm holding now is a gift from (politician) Rozie Munir, which he bought in Tokyo. So, you see my stick has no special powers," he said amid laughter.

He also said he forgave People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais, one of his most ardent critics, and his successor Megawati Soekarnoputri, who had been his vice president.

"But that is my personal stance, not my group's nor my party's stance," he said, referring to the National Awakening Party (PKB). (Asip A. Hasani)