Gus Dur-Hasyim showdown heats up NU congress
Gus Dur-Hasyim showdown heats up NU congress
Muhammad Nafik and Bontank Poer and Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Surakarta
A showdown between former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid
and incumbent chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Hasyim Muzadi
over the NU chairmanship heated up on the second day of the
organization's national congress here on Monday with two camps
mobilizing their ranks.
Hasyim, who is seeking reelection as the chairman of the NU
tanfidziyah (executive body), rallied support from inside the NU
national congress through a speech defending his reelection bid,
while Gus Dur's camp -- which opposes Hasyim's reelection --
fought from the outside, with a demonstration and lobbying.
Speaking before 3,500 congress participants, Hasyim spoke out
against Gus Dur camp's accusation that he had politicized NU by
being nominated as a vice presidential candidate in the
presidential election.
He contended in his accountability speech that he was non
active as NU chairman when he ran in the presidential election as
his position at the time was taken over by acting chairman Masdar
F. Mas'udi.
"Why have I been accused of violating khittah?" Hasyim asked,
referring to NU's pledge to shun politics.
His accountability speech received both applause and laughter
from the participants, showing that support for the incumbent
chairman remained solid.
In a session to respond to the report, at least 12 provincial
NU branches from outside Java accepted it, with 10 of them
announcing their support for Hasyim. They were branches from
Papua, Banten, Lampung, Aceh, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi,
East Nusa Tenggara, Bangka Belitung, West Nusa Tenggara, Jambi
and Maluku.
"Under Pak Hasyim, NU's existence can be further felt in the
regions and this had not happened previously. Besides, NU is
getting better administratively and organizationally," said AF
Mafthukhin, a delegate from Nabire in Papua.
A participant from Temanggung, Central Java, Chanidar, made a
similar comment and said that one of Hasyim's achievements was
that he managed to collect more than Rp 5.4 billion for NU's
coffers.
Hasyim said the money, the sources of which remain unclear,
would be handed over to a new leader of the NU central board if
he was not reelected.
In a related development on Monday, dozens of Gus Dur's
supporters continued an anti-Hasyim protest outside the Donohudan
Haj Dormitory, the congress venue, demanding that the NU central
board be transparent in its financial report.
The Gus Dur camp has nominated charismatic cleric and poet
Mustofa "Gus Mus" Bisri, but it is not yet clear how strong the
support is from structural NU branches for him.
To further block Hasyim's nomination, Gus Dur has run for the
chairmanship of the syuriah (law making body), which has the
power to censure candidates for the chairmanship of tanfidziyah.
Gus Dur faces the incumbent Sahal Mahfudz. However, many
congress participants have said that Sahal, who also chairs the
Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), would likely withdraw his
nomination bid if Gus Dur presses ahead with his plan.
If Hasyim is reelected, a split is imminent in the nation's
largest Muslim organization as Gus Dur has repeatedly threatened
to establish a NU splinter group if the incumbent leader wins a
second five-year term.