Gus Dur tells NU members to beware of politics

JAKARTA (JP): Abdurrahman Wahid, the chairman of Indonesia's largest Moslem organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), told members Saturday to be aware of politics but wary of political involvement.

"If you are not conscious about (what's going on in) the political scene, you might be deceived or cheated, don't get involved in practical politics," Abdurrahman was quoted by Antara as telling hundreds of people at a local NU conference in Banjarbaru, 34 km from the South Kalimantan capital of Banjarmasin.

But Abdurrahman, also known as Gus Dur, did not rule out the possibility of some of the organization's 30 million followers getting involved in politics.

"If some of our brothers wish to get involved in politics or play political heroes, they should go ahead, because that's where they belong. We'll be proud if they succeed and concerned if they fail," he said.

He said the organization needed to strengthen its unity to avoid being trapped by the polarizing forces of political interests in the future.

"NU members should be able to exploit politics in way that benefits the state and the nation," he said.

Established in 1926, NU was politically active until 1982 when it decided to abandon politics and return to its original mission as a socioeducational organization.

Individual members, however, are allowed to join any political organization.

But the NU has never really been free of political entanglements. And Abdurrahman is considered to be politically active, although he denies this.

Last year, for instance, Abdurrahman appeared to have formed a political entente and become a supporter of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

As Megawati's political stature grew, it was rumored that Abdurrahman had switched allegiance to Golkar leader Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana.

This became evident against a backdrop of sectarian and politically motivated riots that hit a number of NU strongholds, such as Situbondo in East Java and Tasikmalaya in West Java, later last year and early this year.

Abdurrahman justified the switch by saying it was to protect NU from groups that wanted to exploit it to further their political interests.

Also Saturday, Abdurrahman told members to stay away from riots or chaotic situations. "Please do your utmost to prevent riots," he said.

He said that no matter how small it appeared at first, chaos that originated from economic problems could spark sectarian and racist sentiments.

"NU members are obliged to prevent chaos or riots, and NU members should always try to maintain inter-religious harmony and national unity," he said.

"This is a very difficult challenge for NU, as it is the greatest force in the country," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Abdurrahman also called for the quality of NU's educational institutions to be improved.

The organization has about 21,000 religious schools, 6,800 pesantren (religious boarding schools) and 4,500 other educational institutions.

The conference was opened by South Kalimantan Vice Governor Bachtiar Murad. (swe)