Influential clerics skip PKB rally

SIDOARJO, East Java: Influential cleric Abdullah Faqih was among the respected Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) ulema who missed the rally to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the National Awakening Party (PKB) here.

Other major absentees included Mas Subadar, Muchit Muzadi and Idris Marzuki. The clerics, known as kyai khos, are the most respected ulema in NU tradition. Without their blessings, PKB founder Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid could not have run for the presidency in 1999 which he won.

Gus Dur, who is PKB chief patron, downplayed the absence of the clerics, saying it would not affect the relationship between them and the party.

Faqih's son, Gus Mujab, who represented him during the celebration said his father was teaching at his Islamic boarding school in Tuban, 100 kilometers west of the provincial capital of Surabaya.

Antara reported the 45,000-seat Sidoarjo sports hall near Surabaya which hosted the celebration was not filled to capacity.

The event was held against the backdrop of the PKB defeat in the election of East Java governor to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

Gus Dur called on the party supporters to accept the defeat for the sake of democracy. -- Antara