PKB Opens Ulama Ijtima, Discusses Declining Trend in Pesantren Students

The National Awakening Party (PKB) held an Ijtima Ulama (clerics’ assembly) as part of its 28th anniversary celebrations, with one of the key discussions focusing on the declining number of students at Islamic boarding schools (pesantren). The matter was raised by the Acting Chairman of the PKB Syuro Council, Manarul Hidayah, while opening the event at the Fairmont Hotel, Jakarta, on Thursday (23/7/2026). Manarul initially stated that the cause of turmoil in the country was due to matters of divinity not being maximised. “The four principles below will be implemented well if the Belief in the One and Only God is practised. One of the causes of the upheaval in our beloved country is that divinity has not been maximised properly,” Manarul said. He then addressed the declining number of students in pesantren. “We read on social media, how much has the number of santri in pesantren dropped? In the past, santri refused, now the number of santri has dropped by tens of per cent. The presence of PKB here is because PKB is the biological child of Nahdlatul Ulama,” he stated. Representing PKB Chairman Muhaimin Iskandar, also known as Cak Imin, he then officially opened the event and thanked the attending clerics. “Because we have a responsibility, even though our daily activities are extraordinarily busy, but because of love for the ulama, love for the nation, and especially love for the National Awakening Party, we can be present here today,” he said.