NU's new lineup set to mend fences
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.