NU seeks political balancing act

Abdurrahman Wahid, more popularly known as Gus Dur, has never stopped making controversial moves. Head of the largest Moslem organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, Gus Dur recently invited President Soeharto's daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana (Tutut) to visit NU's boarding schools (pesantren) in her capacity as Golkar leader to win electoral votes. Muhammad A.S. Hikam examines Gus Dur's recent political maneuver.

JAKARTA (JP): It has been Nahdlatul Ulama's moral commitment to implement fairness in politics, said Gus Dur when asked why he had extended an invitation to Tutut, as President Soeharto's daughter is more popularly known, to visit NU's pesantren.

It is a fact that NU has a record number of members and the organization has stayed out of politics since 1984. Its wide membership obliges it to offer each political party an opportunity to win votes. It is only natural for the 30-million strong organization to play a balancing role with neutrality.

The invitation to Tutut highlighted at once the speculation of political ties between Gus Dur and Megawati Soekarnoputri, the ousted chairman of a loose alliance between the nationalist and the Christian elements, the minority Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

But not everyone is capable of seeing Gus Dur and Megawati's relationship as moral support from a pro-democracy activist to a political party leader having the same political vision, integrity and concern. Most people, particularly Gus Dur's political opponents, look at the relationship as an effort to establish a political alliance between the Islamic group and the nationalist group.

Inevitably, this prejudice has contributed to the emergence of various problems pitting Gus Dur and NU face-to-face against the authorities.

Actually, the idea to invite a figure like Tutut to visit pesantren has existed for a long time and has won support from NU members as a testament to NU's trademark of balanced politics. Gus Dur has apparently chosen three months before the general election and there are rumors the invitation is not limited to visits to pesantren but also to NU rallies in the provinces.

Why has the choice of a Golkar representative fallen on Tutut and not on Golkar's chairman Harmoko? I think it is only a matter of priority. Tutut is seen as being a stronger magnet for NU members. Apart from being a woman, she is President Soeharto's daughter. Moreover, she is chairman of coordinators for East Java and Central Java provinces in Golkar's leadership board. These two provinces form the strongest NU base. For Tutut herself, the visits would probably boost her political stature and experience. This is of great importance if she intends to enter politics in the future.

What will be the political impact for NU and Gus Dur if Tutut receives this invitation? The impact on NU is clear. It will erase Gus Dur's political stigma of being a government opposition. However, it will also be a test of NU's balanced politics principle. If NU passes the test, it is not only consistent with its decision to stay out of politics but it will also become a model of political maturity for Moslems in the country.

For Gus Dur, the experiment may put him in a vulnerable position to be attacked by his foes who say that he is not consistent with his political stance and should keep a distance from power holders. They will see the invitation to Tutut as an attempt to approach the authorities.

In my opinion, this criticism is too hasty. It is true that Gus Dur has never failed to discharge his sharp criticism of the government to this day. Gus Dur's views remain opposed to those in power regarding many sensitive issues like the handling of the Situbondo and Tasikmalaya riots, the legality of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) under Megawati, the question of halal labels on food and beverages, human rights, democratization and others.

Gus Dur's maneuver this time can be interpreted as a portrait of NU's political realism in anticipating future changes, especially in the aftermath of the 1997 general election. In the long struggle for democracy, a consistent and realistic attitude is needed by an organization as big as NU to steer clear of the rocks in rapid waters.

The writer is a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Jakarta.