The NU stage play

The NU stage play

The final curtain has just come down on a political event
which resembled a stage play -- the formation of a "Nahdatul
Ulama Executive Board" (PBNU) led by Abu Hasan. The event
resembled a stage play because the formation of the board
occurred in a prearranged manner.

Quite possibly Abu Hasan may at this very moment be crowing
and boasting about the attainment of his ambition, which is to
establish a rival board to the one which already has the formal
and legal recognition of the government -- the NU executive board
led by Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur).

Consciously or otherwise, however, Abu Hasan has contributed
to sowing a kind of confusion which has the potential of creating
a rift among Indonesia's Moslems, particularly members of the NU.

From the beginning Abu Hasan had pushed the holding of a Grand
Conference of KPPNU (the NU rival board). The fact that the
government -- through statements from a number of officials such
as Minister of Home Affairs Yogie S.M. and the Chief of Staff of
the Army Gen. R. Hartono -- had made it clear that it only
recognized the board led by Gus Dur did not faze him in the
least. It is therefore quite natural for people to conclude that
Abu Hasan made his move because he was enjoying support in the
upper echelons of the country's political elite.

It is not impossible that Abu Hasan's actions will have an
adverse effect on the political education of the people. This is
because the action could become a bad precedent affecting the
future growth of social-political organizations.

It is not impossible that in the future anyone who has lost a
contest within an organization will establish a rival
organization, ignoring the fact that winning and losing are
logical parts of any kind of contest, including political
contests.

If this is the case it can be imagined what is in store for
this nation. Rift upon rift will occur. An even worse consequence
might be the government's loss of credibility among the people.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta