NU finds it difficult to avoid playing politics
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in the country, has made it impossible not to get involved in practical politics, despite its efforts to stay away from political parties.
It required its 40 million supporters nationwide to get involved in playing a major role in politics in the predominantly Muslim country.
This has often prompted national politicians to vie with each other to win support from its charismatic ulemas and other members in general elections.
Furthermore, NU was once a major political party between the 1950s and 1970s, instilling in its members a taste for the cut and thrust of politics.
During former president Soeharto's 32-year authoritarian rule, the religious organization, which was then chaired by later successor Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, was sidelined in politics.
Soeharto's repressive regime, however, failed to stop NU members from getting involved in politics. After Soeharto's downfall in 1998, it founded a new party, the National Awakening Party (PKB).
NU leaders argued that the establishment of PKB was to accommodate NU supporters' political aspirations, as other political parties were unable to do so.
The enigmatic Gus Dur, one of the most influential leaders in NU, played a key role in dragging it into formal politics by founding PKB.
Conversely, he also played a role in the withdrawal of the Muslim social organization from formal politics in 1984, a move known locally as khittah.
Despite being no longer in charge of NU's day-to-day operations, Gus Dur is still in control of both PKB and NU.
"It is unrealistic that NU should not play a major role in politics because it is the largest religious organization in the country," NU leader Solahuddin Wahid told The Jakarta Post on Friday on the sidelines of its national conference.
However, he stressed that it ought to make clear now that NU was neither PKB nor vice versa, nor was it tied in institutionally to other political parties.
In the three-day conference opened by President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Thursday, NU leaders vowed to firmly ban its functionaries from serving simultaneously as PKB officials.
NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi admitted it was not easy to impose the policy immediately as many NU executives dominated the party.
"PKB still lacks human resources, so in many cases it has often had to recruit NU executives to run the party at the same time," he told the Post.
The ongoing meeting is aimed at reaffirming NU's 1984 commitment to stick to khittah.
Despite current efforts to redesign khittah, NU will strengthen its political influence at a national level as it is moving to embrace and reconcile its senior ulemas and politicians, who are scattered between various parties.
The conference was expected to form an NU political commission to harbor these scattered figures, who were opposed to the organization's policies under Gus Dur's leadership.
Hasyim confirmed that such a proposed body was discussed in the meeting and said that it might not be termed a political commission.
Another NU leader, Rozy Munir, said NU's isolated politicians would be reunited and recruited as think tank members for Southeast Asia's largest Islamic organization.
"We will set up a communications channel for them within NU, so it will surely strengthen our political influence in the long run," he said.
NU secretary-general Muhyiddin Arubusman said that reaffirming NU's khittah and strengthening its political role at the same time was a "challenge and trial" for the organization to face the future.
"We want NU to become an umbrella that will provide shelter, not only for PKB, but other political parties too in the future," he said.
This means that NU will focus on "broad-minded politics" aimed at serving the interests of the nation as a whole, said M. Hasib Wahab, a leading figure in the East Java NU chapter.