Hasyim awaits decision on presidential candidacy

Hasyim awaits decision on presidential candidacy

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Hasyim Muzadi played down on
Wednesday being nominated as a candidate for the presidency,
saying he would only run for president if his candidacy received
the full support of both the Muslim organization and the National
Awakening Party.

Hasyim said his nomination as a presidential candidate by
clerics who claimed to represent 30 provincial chapters of the NU
on Tuesday was part of an encouraging public discourse.

The clerics suggested that PKB, which was founded by NU
clerics in 1998, support Hasyim's bid for the presidency. The
motion goes against the wishes of PKB top brass, who intend to
nominate former president Abdurrahman Wahid, who is Hasyim's
predecessor at the NU.

"The final decision will rest with the PKB and the executive
board of the NU," Muzadi said on the sidelines of the PKB
executive meeting in Santika Hotel in Central Jakarta.

PKB is slated to hold a series of executive meetings to select
its presidential candidate. Meetings after this first meeting,
which is still under way, will be held in August, December and
January next year.

The names of possible candidates are unlikely to be disclosed
at the conclusion of the current meeting, which is expected to
determine the criteria and the mechanism to select the
presidential aspirants of the party.

Sources say PKB's presidential candidate will be announced in
December this year or January next year.

Indonesia will hold its first direct presidential election in
June and the second round, if no one wins a simple majority, in
August.

Muzadi said that even if the PKB named him its presidential
candidate, he would seek NU approval before contesting the
election.

"This is the ethics of leadership. I will not abandon the NU
executive board and make a decision on my own, especially for
short-term interests, in this case presidential candidacy," he
said.

Under Hasyim, the NU has adopted a strict ruling that bans its
executives from being affiliated to political parties.

The amended Constitution says only political parties have the
right to pick presidential candidates.

Meanwhile, Abdurrahman, who is PKB's chief patron, met with
influential figures within the NU, known as kyai khos, in the wee
hours of Wednesday.

There was no official statement on the substance of the
closed-door meeting, but the influential figures suggested that
the PKB and the NU strengthen ties.

Both parties were also urged to intensify communication
between them, in order to ease any tension resulting from
presidency issues.

In a separate development, the South Jakarta District Court
ruled on Wednesday that the dismissal of Matori Abdul Jalil as
PKB chairman in 2001 was unlawful.

Matori was fired by PKB chief patron Abdurrahman after the
former attended the Special Session of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) in 2001, which led to Abdurrahman's removal as
president.

PKB members loyal to Abdurrahman elected Alwi Shihab as
Matori's replacement. Matori in turn established a rival wing of
the PKB.

"PKB-led by the plaintiff (Matori) is legitimate," presiding
Judge Tusani Djafri told the hearing.

The verdict also stated that Matori's PKB could lawfully use
the party's logo, name and anthem.

Tusani said that Matori's presence in the MPR's Special
Session was legal and acceptable, due to his position as a deputy
speaker of the MPR, and not as a representative of the PKB.

The impact of the decision on Alwi's PKB remains unknown, as
the court did not issue a ruling on the subject.