NU finds it difficult to avoid playing politics
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.