PKB: Cak Imin's Criticism Regarding NU is Not an Attack on HMI

The Daily Executive Chairman of the PKB Central Leadership Board, Najmi Mumtaza Rabbany, also known as Gus Najmi, stated that the remarks made by the PKB General Chairman, Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, or Cak Imin, regarding the condition of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), were not directed as an attack against the Islamic Students Association (HMI).

Previously, clips of Cak Imin’s statements circulated on social media, in which he suggested that NU is in decline because it is being led by HMI alumni. Najmi argued that the statement must be viewed in its entirety and proportionally. According to him, Cak Imin was criticising the leadership within NU, not attacking HMI.

“He is criticising a leadership and evaluating the condition of NU, not attacking HMI as an organisation or all of its alumni,” Najmi said in a written statement on Sunday (30/8).

He noted that while the HMI background of the figures being criticised is a biographical fact, this fact should not automatically lead to the conclusion that Cak Imin’s criticism is directed at HMI. “If every criticism of a figure is automatically considered criticism of their organisation, then we are trapped in a logical fallacy,” he added.

He further explained that an HMI background is a personal identity of the individual in question, but the primary point concerns capability and leadership outcomes. Najmi stated that Cak Imin is an inseparable part of NU and the pesantren tradition, asserting that the criticism stems from a sense of moral responsibility to improve their own institution.

“We must not allow this narrative of leadership evaluation to be twisted into a provocation between movement organisations. Differences in analysis are healthy, but the unity of student and youth movements must remain the priority,” he said.

The video of Cak Imin’s statement was shared, among other places, by the former Chairman of PB HMI, Anas Urbaningrum. In the video, Cak Imin claimed that NU has experienced a decline over the last five years, stating, “Clearly, it is in decline because it is led by HMI alumni, something like that.”