NU's new lineup set to mend fences
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Hasyim Muzadi announced here on Saturday the new members of Nahdlatul Ulama's (NU) central board, including several figures who were opposed to his recent reelection as NU leader.
The appointment of such men as Masdar Farid Mas'udi, Tholchah Hasan, Mustofa Bisri, Solahuddin Wahid and Malik Madany, was apparently aimed at appeasing the anti-Hasyim camp, led by former NU leader and president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.
However, hours before the new lineup was announced, Gus Dur's younger brother Solahuddin said he would not sit on the board, preferring to act as a mediator for reconciliation between the two factions.
"I have discussed the matter with my wife, my closest friends and my elder brother, Gus Dur. I am thankful for it, but I'd rather reject it, as I would prefer to promote islah (reconciliation), and I can only do that if I don't take sides," he told The Jakarta Post.
However, Gus Dur and a number of senior NU ulema remain determined that their faction's protest against Hasyim's reelection as NU leader will continue at the organization's national congress on Dec. 2, in Surakarta, Central Java.
Gus Dur has stressed on several occasions his readiness to form a splinter group, unless Hasyim and 10 of his allies, including Said Aqil Siradj, Rozi Munir and Taufiq R. Abdullah, quit their posts in the organization.
Hasyim and Gus Dur have been at odds following Hasyim's election bid as Megawati Soekarnoputri's running mate. Gus Dur accused Hasyim of dragging the NU into politics.
The new NU lineup has been discussed in a series of meetings since Dec. 3, the day after Hasyim and Sahal Mahfud retained their top posts as the organization's tanfidziyah (executive) leader and syuriah (lawmaking body) leader respectively.
Several figures representing regions were accommodated into both the syuriah and tanfidziyah boards. They include Abdul Mu'iz Kabri, a Muslim scholar from South Sulawesi, and Artani Hasbi, a cleric from South Kalimantan.
The new structure maintains its bloodline relation with the NU's co-founders. Abdul Wahid Azis, who is the grandson of Bisri Syamsuri, and Fajrul Falaakh, who is the great grandson of Wahab Hasbullah are now NU executive board members. Solahuddin is the grandson of Hasyim Ashari.
Young Muslim scholar Masdar F. Mas'udi, who lost to Hasyim in the NU leadership race -- despite Gus Dur's backing -- was maintained as a deputy executive board chairman, along with 11 others.
Malik Madani, a former chairman of NU's Yogyakarta chapter and one of Hasyim's opponents, was picked as a syuriah member.
When announcing the new board, Hasyim said the NU would ask all of its structural leaders to abide by a contractual agreement called "Jamiyyah Kontrak, comprising five key points.
NU leaders are prohibited from engaging in practical politics, unless they leave their posts in the organization.
Under the contract, signed by Sahal, his deputy Tholchah Hasan and Hasyim himself, all top NU leaders are committed to not pursuing legislative and executive seats.
"Also, they must not make any move on behalf of the organization without the consent of the syuriah leader," Hasyim said.
The contract obliges NU board members to comply with the NU's internal regulations and khittah (the organization's commitment made in 1984 to stay out of politics), as well as all decisions made at the recent congress.