Prabowo Asks Gus Yahya for NU Membership Card: 'You Still Owe Me'

President Prabowo Subianto has called in a “debt” owed by Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) chairman KH Yahya Cholil Staquf, known as Gus Yahya, over an NU membership card.

The request was made directly by Prabowo while opening the 35th Nahdlatul Ulama Congress at Bahrul Ulum Islamic Boarding School in Tambakberas, Jombang, East Java, on Thursday, 27 August 2026.

Speaking in a jesting tone, Prabowo said he had long been asking Gus Yahya for an NU membership card. He even raised the possibility of returning for the closing of the 35th NU Congress on 31 August 2026 if the card had been issued by then.

“Only Gus Yahya — I have been asking for an NU card for ages, so he still owes me. If possible, before the congress closes. The closing is on the 31st, right? If there is a membership card, I will come again on the 31st,” Prabowo said in his address.

The quip was delivered amid a more serious message about the government’s closeness with Islamic mass organisations, particularly NU and Muhammadiyah. Prabowo stressed that the government needs close relations with both organisations to maintain national stability and security.

“What Gus Yahya said is very true, as is what Kiai Hasib said. This government wants to rise and wants to be safe. The government, the umaro, must always be close to Nahdlatul Ulama and also Muhammadiyah,” Prabowo said.

For Prabowo, the government’s closeness with the two organisations is not merely an institutional relationship, but part of the effort to keep Indonesia safe and able to rise.

Prabowo also linked the aspirations of NU’s founders to Indonesia’s larger goal of becoming a respected nation in the global community. In his view, a nation’s honour cannot be separated from justice and prosperity.

“So the aspiration, the aspiration of NU’s founders, is for the Indonesian nation to rise. For the Indonesian nation to be equal with other nations in this world. For the Indonesian nation, when it rises, to be a nation of honour,” Prabowo said.

“A nation of honour is a nation that is just and prosperous. No nation is respected if it is not prosperous. And there is no prosperity without justice,” he continued.

Prabowo then stressed that NU has a long track record in national life. He said NU has always been present at various important moments, including when the nation faced crises.