Hasyim keeps Golkar waiting
Hasyim keeps Golkar waiting
Kurniawan Hari and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Jakarta/Bandung
The urging of Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung and
presidential candidate Wiranto was not enough to convince
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader Hasyim Muzadi to accept the party's
vice presidential offer.
Hasyim asked both Akbar and Wiranto to consult senior NU
clerics and members of the organization's law making body on
Friday, saying he was not in a position to respond to the
proposal.
"The offer will be decided by the Majelis Syuriah, NU's law-
making body. I suggest Pak Akbar and Pak Wiranto consult the
Syuriah. I am just a puppet," Hasyim said after a 40-minute
meeting at NU's head office on Jl. Kramat Raya, Central Jakarta.
The noncommittal response may force Golkar to implement its
third plan of appointing one of its own leaders to partner its
presidential candidate Wiranto.
Earlier on Thursday, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, cofounder of
the National Awakening Party (PKB) also rejected an offer from
Akbar and Wiranto to forge a coalition.
Akbar expressed optimism that Hasyim and NU's law-making body
would give the nod, claiming that some influential NU clerics had
expressed their support for the Wiranto-Hasyim duo.
Akbar said it was too early for the party to talk about the
possibility of selecting one of its own members for the vice
presidential post.
"The chances (of recruiting Hasyim) are open wide. I know that
some clerics have expressed their support," he said.
M. Yahya Zaini, a Golkar politician who is close to Akbar,
revealed that among the NU clerics in favor of Hasyim's
nomination as Golkar vice presidential candidate were Idris
Marzuki from Lirboyo boarding school in Kediri, East Java, and
Mutawakil from Krapyak in Yogyakarta.
Akbar and Wiranto said they would soon meet Sahal Mahfudz,
chief of NU's law-making body, to discuss the offer.
Hasyim is also being tempted by the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to contest the election as the running
mate of Megawati,
Golkar and PDI-P expect that Hasyim's position as chairman of
the 40 million-strong NU would help it win the July 5
presidential election. But without the consent of PKB cofounder
Gus Dur, who is an influential figure in NU, such a coalition may
not materialize.
Megawati is also offering incumbent Vice President Hamzah Haz
another coalition.
Separately, chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Amien
Rais started introducing former transmigration minister Siswono
Yudohusodo as his would-be running mate.
Amien acknowledged that some of his supporters had shown
resistance to Siswono, whom they said was not a devout Muslim.
Amien, however, said such resistance would diminish soon.
"Time is very limited and I don't think I can go 'shopping
around' for a running mate. Pak Siswono is a nationalist figure
and is not corrupt. He has good managerial skills," Amien said
after addressing hundreds of PAN supporters at Panghegar Hotel in
Bandung.
Amien was accompanied by campaign chief Din Syamsuddin and
movie actor cum politician Dede Yusuf.
Amien reiterated that it would be impossible for him to name a
Muslim leader as his running mate given the fact that Indonesia
was such a diverse country in terms of religion.