Gus Dur is for Soeharto's renomination

Gus Dur is for Soeharto's renomination

JAKARTA (JP): Prominent Moslem scholar Abdurrahman Wahid
yesterday promised to give his support if the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) decides to reelect President Soeharto
in 1998.

The chairman of Indonesia's largest Moslem organization
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) told a gathering of some 1,500 ulemas that
he agreed with President Soeharto that the most important thing
in the national leadership succession is not who will sit at the
nation's helm, but whether the process takes place
constitutionally.

"Which is why NU will support Pak Harto if the factions of the
People's Consultative Assembly choose him. It's not a matter of
who, the most important thing is the Assembly's (decision)," he
said at a meeting of Rabithah Ma'ahid Islamiyah, an association
of NU Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) held at the Genggong
Pesantren in Probolinggo, East Java, on Sunday evening.

He was speaking about the need for ulemas to retain their
independence even in the face of an onslaught of visits or aid
from parties outside the schools. Aid should not influence the
ulemas when deciding their stance over many issues, including
politics, he said.

There is nothing wrong with receiving aid, in financial or in
other forms, but it should not be to the detriment of the schools
themselves, he said.

"If you receive aid which is not needed by the pesantren, it
will ruin the schools' reputation so badly that people will
abandon you," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

"Remember, Pak Harto himself has reminded us not to expect too
much from the government," he added.

Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, leads Forum
Demokrasi, a loose association of government critics. He was
reelected chairman of NU in Dec. 1994 and since then had not been
invited for a formal audience with President Soeharto, a
tradition for newly elected or reelected leaders of social and
political organizations.

Observers had taken this as a sign that Abdurrahman did not
have the President's blessing. However, on Saturday, President
Soeharto opened the NU pesantren meeting after warmly taking
Abdurrahman's hand and walking with him to the dais.

Despite his critical stance on many government policies,
Abdurrahman Wahid had in the past repeatedly voiced support for
Soeharto. Last year, for instance, he predicted Soeharto would
retain power in 1998 because he was skeptical that the People's
Consultative Assembly would elect a new president in 1998.

On another occasion, he said NU, which has strong loyalty from
some 30 million people, would defend President Soeharto against
any attempt to unseat him by unconstitutional means.

Not only that. NU will serve as a buttress for the incumbent
President. "If necessary, two million NU followers will take to
the street and protest against anybody who tries to harm
President Soeharto," he said last June. "Never doubt the loyalty
of this organization toward this nation."

Next year, Indonesia will hold its seventh general election.
In 1998, the 1,000-strong People's Consultative Assembly will
convene, elect a president and vice president, and prepare the
broad guidelines for state policies. As the convention draws
near, public discourse on national leadership intensifies.

The ruling Golkar last month drew up a list of criteria for
the next president. The criteria includes a requirement for the
person to be able to take decisions during difficult times.

Yesterday, House Speaker Wahono welcomed Golkar's criteria and
said it could be used as input for the nation when it decides to
choose its leaders.

Addressing a plenary session to mark the opening of the House
of Representatives second hearing session for 1996/1997, Wahono
said that Golkar's nine point criteria for presidential elections
meets the future's challenges. (swe/ste)