NU seeks political balancing act

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.