NU boss Gus Dur wants to step down next year

BAGU, West Nusa Tenggara (JP): Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization, said yesterday he wished to retire next year rather than wait until the next election in 1999.

Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, said he would support members who campaigned to hold the election next year rather than the following year as scheduled.

"I have been active in the organization since 1984, and I am supposed to end my service in 1999 when I would have been working for 15 years," said Abdurrahman who leads the 30 million member organization and many other supporters across the country.

"It will be better if I can quit next year, instead of waiting for another two years," he said yesterday.

"But the decision will rest on the conference," he said referring to NU's National Meeting of Ulemas and National Conference in Bagu, 17 kilometers southeast of the West Nusa Tenggara capital, Mataram.

Secretary of NU's Yogyakarta chapter, Nuruddin Amin, suggested Monday that the organization hold its congress and chairmanship election next year, instead of 1999.

The congress is the highest constitutional forum in NU and its task, among others, is to elect leaders of the organization's executive board, known as Tanfidzyah, as well as its law-making body, Syuriyah. The congress is also obligated to establish policy guidelines for the next five-year term.

Abdurrahman said he had prepared several NU members, all under 45 years of age, with the potential of replacing him. He named Fajrul Falakh, Arifin Junaidi and Said Agil as examples.

As for his own future, Abdurrahman said he wished to explore many possibilities.

"I'm a flexible man. I can become a freelance writer or be active in non-governmental organizations," he said.

Abdurrahman dismissed a recent statement by Saleh Al Jufri, an official of NU's East Java chapter, that he had the capability to become vice president. "I am not sure Saleh was serious in his statement," he said.

Ilyas Rukhiat, the Rois Aam (chairman) of the syuriyah (law- making body), disagreed with Abdurrahman's wish for chairmanship election next year.

"Let's stick to the organization's statutes. Abdurrahman's term of office will end in 1999, not next year," he said, adding that there's no need for a congress ahead of schedule.

Also yesterday, Abdurrahman spoke about his recent controversial visit to Israel. He said he went to Tel Aviv to attend the signing of a declaration against violence or the murder of innocent people at the Simon Peres Peace Center in Tel Aviv.

"I was invited as one of the founders and a member of the board of patrons of the Simon Peres Foundation," he said. "And I obtained approval from NU senior members in a plenary meeting in Cirebon, West Java, before I went there."

He said he was the only person representing the Southeast Asia region. Others invitees included former U.S. secretary of state Warren Christopher.

He said the public should stop worrying about his stance on and ties with Israeli figures.

"A lot of Moslem-dominant countries, including Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Tunis, Turkey, Oman and other smaller Islamic countries have opened both diplomatic and trade relations with Israel," he said.

"A senior religious leader from Saudi Arabia has issued a statement that peace agreement with Israel is not against Islamic rules," he added.

He said Indonesia would benefit economically and technologically from open ties with Israel. (imn/43)

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