NU yet to support Gus Dur for president

The Jakarta Post, Surabaya/Jakarta

The country's largest Muslim organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has not yet named its preferred presidential candidates despite frequent visits by Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid to several influential NU clerics.

"NU has not yet named a figure. Should Gus Dur have to withdraw (his candidacy) due to physical handicap, NU would consider other candidates like NU Chairman Hasyim Muzadi, Alwi Shihab, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or Mahfud MD," chief of NU's East Java chapter Ali Maschan Moesa said in Surabaya on Monday.

Some 200 influential NU clerics from across the country will gather in Surabaya next week to discuss the criteria to be established for presidential candidates to be endorsed by NU.

"The clerics will forward the criteria to the NU Central Board, which will issue a tausiyah (suggestion)," Ali said.

He asserted the clerics would refrain from disclosing any names.

Separately, Gus Dur, who has been named the presidential candidate of the National Awakening Party (PKB), said NU executives were not supposed to establish criteria for presidential candidates because the organization did not get involved in political affairs.

The PKB's traditional supporters are mostly NU members.

"If they insist on announcing the criteria, it means they have nothing else to do. The NU is not a political party, so (it should) avoid politics. If it insists, we'll see whether NU members are loyal to the NU Central Board or to the PKB," Gus Dur said after visiting influential cleric Abdullah Fakih in Tuban, East Java.

NU, formerly a political party, reinstated its founding statute as a nonpolitical organization in 1984.

Chief of PKB's East Java chapter Choirul Anam claimed that 80 percent of NU members would throw their weight behind Gus Dur in the presidential election regardless of an order from NU that said otherwise.

"We will not elect anyone other than Gus Dur as he has done a lot to boost the PKB vote this year," Choirul said.

PKB ranks third in the provisional vote tally for the legislative election, winning 12 percent of the votes counted, or some 10 million votes.

In Jakarta, the PKB asked the Constitutional Court on Monday to issue an edict regarding health requirements for presidential and vice presidential candidates that had been issued by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

The party suspected the requirements would preclude the nomination of Gus Dur, who has serious eye problems.

The request was filed with the court by senior PKB members Mahfud MD and Djoko Moeljo, and lawyer Saiful Anwar.

"We know an edict is not legally binding but we need a quick legal decision as the deadline for registration of presidential and vice presidential aspirants is drawing near," Mahfud said. Registration will run from May 1 through May 7.

Ahmad Fadlil Sumadi, the court clerk chief who received the file, said the court would respond to the request and issue an edict soon.

The Constitutional Court earlier rejected requests by the New Indonesia Alliance Party (PPIB) and the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) in different cases. A court justice said that the court would not issue an edict without very careful consideration beforehand.