Soeharto to open NU congress
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has agreed to open the 29th national congress of Indonesia's largest Moslem organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), in Tasikmalaya, West Java, this December.
Seven NU leaders, including its chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, told journalists after meeting Soeharto yesterday that the President also welcomed the NU pledge to return to its original mission as a socio-religious organization.
"NU's pledge is very appropriate and will benefit and create peace of the mind among NU supporters," Soeharto was quoted as saying by K.H. Sahal Mahfudz, acting vice chairman of the NU law- making body.
Led by K.H. Ilyas Ruchyat, acting chairman of the body, the Moslem leaders also asked Soeharto for his guidance as to how they could best run the congress.
"He gave us some very useful advice," Ruchyat said.
Sahal said Soeharto was happy with the decision to start refocusing efforts on social and educational development, especially for its 34 million members.
According to Sahal, President Soeharto suggested that NU establish more social service programs like hospitals and orphanages.
"NU has tremendous potential and it should be harnessed for those purposes," Soeharto was quoted by Sahal as saying.
Cooperatives
Soeharto also said that NU should develop its economic potential. He suggested that the organization, which manages thousands of pesantren or Islamic boarding schools establish cooperatives.
"The santri (students) should be actively involved in cooperative activities after they finish their education," Soeharto said. "That's why they need to be educated."
"What's important is not that the students gain economic values from the cooperatives, but that the cooperatives become a means for them to learn about economic management," Soeharto was quoted by Sahal.
Despite rife speculations, NU has decided not to discuss the possibility of reversing its 1984 historic decision to quit formal politics and return to its original mission, known as Khittah 1926, in order to accommodate a growing number of NU leaders who wish to be more actively involved in politics.
On the contrary, Sahal said, the congress, which meets every five years, will discuss ways to actualize the Khittah, which is the popular term for NU's Spirit of 1926.
NU, once a powerful political party, decided to abandon politics in 1984 and concentrate on the original mission laid out by its founders, in 1926, to promote the education of Islam and the welfare of Moslems.
Sahal said the pledge has actually encouraged NU members to individually choose any political affiliation in order to carry out their political inclinations. (swe)