Gus Dur wants new NU chairman
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
The upcoming Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) congress in November looks set to rekindle the rivalry between chairman Hasyim Muzadi and his predecessor Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.
Gus Dur, who assumed the presidency in 1999 after chairing NU for 15 years, has named NU deputy chairman Cecep Syarifuddin as a candidate for the top executive post in the country's largest Muslim organization in place of Hasyim.
Chairman of NU's East Java chapter Choirul Anam said on Tuesday that Gus Dur had also confirmed his bid to contest the NU chief patron post now held by Sahal Mahfudz.
Gus Dur said the NU should be led by a person with integrity and who was concerned about the public interest.
"That's why I prefer Cecep, who has more advantages than Hasyim," Gus Dur said.
Cecep is also known as an expert in Islamic jurisprudence pertaining to ritual obligations. In addition, he chairs the board of patrons of the NU youth wing, Anshor, and has been tipped to take charge of a foundation to be established by Gus Dur, which will concern itself with educational issues.
The congress will take place from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2 at the Surakarta haj dormitory in Central Java.
Gus Dur said his choice of candidate for the NU chairmanship had been approved by Sahal, who quickly dismissed Gus Dur's claim.
Contacted separately, Sahal said he preferred Mustofa Bisri, who is also a noted poet, for the position, saying Mustofa was considered neutral.
Like Gus Dur, Sahal urged Hasyim not to seek reelection, mainly because of his involvement in politics. Hasyim contested the presidential election as the running mate of President Megawati Soekarnoputri. The ticket is headed for imminent defeat at the hands of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla.
"It would be better if Hasyim did not run for the chief executive post. However, I will leave the decision to the congress participants," said Sahal, who also chairs the Indonesian Ulemas Council.
Relations between Gus Dur and Hasyim turned sour after the latter refused to stand behind Gus Dur when he was facing mounting pressure from his political rivals to quit the presidency in 2001.
Hasyim himself seems to have lost interest in joining the race, despite support from the grassroots.
"I am thinking about returning to the pesantren (Islamic boarding school)," he told journalists at his residence in Malang, East Java. Hasyim runs an Islamic boarding school.
The deputy secretary of the NU's East Java chapter, Achmad Sujono, said his chapter still favored Hasyim.
He said Gus Dur's plan to join the race for key posts in the NU was a political maneuver by the National Awakening Party (PKB), which wanted to turn the NU into its political machine.
The PKB was founded by NU figures to channel the political aspirations of the 40 million members of the Muslim organization.