NU 35th Congress Participants Quarantined at Sukolilo Hajj Dormitory, Media Barred from Entry

One day before the 35th Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Congress, waves of arriving participants have begun filling the Sukolilo Hajj Dormitory in Surabaya, East Java. However, the transit process is marked by tight security and a ban on media personnel covering activities inside the dormitory area.

Observations at the site since morning showed various types of vehicles transporting participants continuing to enter the Sukolilo Hajj Dormitory complex. At the entrance, a number of security officers consisting of young men wearing batik shirts and black peci hats carried out strict checks. They asked about the branch origin of each arriving participant before allowing entry.

Tension arose when a Media Indonesia team together with a local television station reporter attempted to cover activities in the dormitory lobby area. Although they managed to reach the registration room and saw rows of documents prepared by the committee, security officers immediately approached the journalists and asked them to leave the premises.

In fact, the registration sheets on the committee table were immediately hidden moments after the officers realised the presence of journalists in the room.

“Where are you from? Journalists are prohibited from entering the dormitory. This area is sterile, no journalists are allowed in,” said one security officer at the site.

Although the journalists argued that the hajj dormitory is a public space, a man dressed in white still insisted that the reporters leave. “This is only a transit point, journalists are not allowed to enter the hajj dormitory. Please go directly to the Congress venue tomorrow,” he asserted.

Information gathered indicates a sudden change in the arrival scheme for participants. Initially, the congress committee reportedly did not provide transit facilities or pick-up services from airports, stations, or terminals to the hajj dormitory, as participants were supposed to go directly to the main Congress venue in Jombang.

However, transit and accommodation facilities at the Sukolilo Hajj Dormitory were suddenly provided. Suspicions have emerged that the participants are undergoing a quarantine process first, initiated by one of the candidates for PBNU chairman before departing to the Congress venue.

This closed quarantine is suspected to be the main reason for the tight security. Participants are not permitted to communicate with outside parties, especially the mass media, regarding the meeting agenda taking place inside the dormitory.