Heat is on in NU meet run-up

Indra Harsaputra and Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya/Semarang

Supporters of Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Hasyim Muzadi claimed on Tuesday that as many as 30 regional branches supported the reelection of the failed vice presidential candidate.

Ali Maschan Moesa, head of East Java NU office, said Hasyim's backers held three meetings immediately after the Sept. 20 presidential election.

"This is the first time NU provincial branches across the country have supported Pak Hasyim. During the national congress in Lirboyo in 1999, only the East Java branch supported his nomination," Ali Maschan said.

Hasyim was former president Megawati Soekarnoputri's vice presidential candidate in the presidential election, which was won by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla.

However, Ali acknowledged that the support of the regional branches did not reflect support from the some 400 NU branches at the district level across the country.

The next NU chairman will be elected by NU leaders at the provincial and district levels.

NU, the country's largest Muslim organization, will hold a national congress from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2 in Boyolali, Central Java. As many as 5,000 people are expected to attend the congress, which is expected to be opened by President Susilo.

The chairman of the congress' steering committee, Muhammad Adnan, said on Tuesday in Semarang, Central Java, that one of the main items on the agenda of the congress would be the election of the organization's chairman and the head of the NU's lawmaking body.

In addition to Hasyim, former religious affairs minister Tolchah Hasan, NU deputy chairmen Mustofa Bisri, Salahuddin Wahid and Cecep Syarifuddin have been named as possible candidates for the chairmanship.

Twenty-five senior NU leaders from Java, South Kalimantan and West Nusa Tenggara have announced that they would like to see the NU to be led by former president Abdurrahman Wahid, the grandson of NU founder Hasyim Asy'ari.