Ulemas move to preserve unity in NU and PPP

Ulemas move to preserve unity in NU and PPP

By Santi WE Soekanto

REMBANG, Central Java (JP): Eighty influential leaders from
the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) decided against formally naming
candidates for the upcoming election of the United Development
Party (PPP).

Despite their initial inclination, the ulemas who met here on
Sunday until the early hours of yesterday morning agreed not to
give official endorsements for one of the three strongest
candidates, in order to stop deepening rifts within NU.

Host of the meeting, K.H. Cholil Bisri, said picking certain
names would only sow seeds of hostility.

"We made that decision not because the government forbids us
to do so [choose a candidate], but because we're aware of the
potential for conflicts," he told the press after the meeting.

Bisri, who was accompanied by one of the three candidates,
Hamzah Haz, further explained that a "council" of nine Moslem
leaders has been established and authorized to pick one name
before the PPP congress in August.

Earlier, the most senior ulema, K.H. Syansuri Badlawi, had
said that the name of the chosen candidate would be brought to
President Soeharto's attention for approval.

When asked whether the ulemas would be disappointed if
Soeharto rejected the candidate, Syansuri was quick to point out
that ulemas must never feel frustrated. "If the President does
not accept our candidate for PPP chairmanship, that's all right."

The council members are K.H. Cholil Bisri, K.H. Syansuri
Badlawi, K.H. Nadhier Muhammad, K.H. Mursalim Ridho, K.H. Hasib
Siradj, K.H. Arifin Khan, K.H. Nu'man Zein, K.H. Dimyati Rois and
K.H. Syofiansyah.

According to Bisri, the council will also be responsible to
"sell" its decision to all of the PPP branches in Indonesia's 27
provinces, as well as to the political supra-structure,
"including to the President," he said.

The ulemas yesterday also agreed to move to stop growing
conflicts and make amends with the other three factions in the
party, which are the Muslimin Indonesia (MI), Perti and Permusi.

Meetings with leaders of the other factions, which in 1972
fused with NU to form the party, have already been planned,
according to some ulemas.

NU is by far the largest of the four factions, but the
leadership has always gone to MI, which has counted the support
of the government. Recently, the relationships among the factions
have been strained, especially after NU made clear its intention
to wrest the helm position of the party from MI.

The meeting of the ulemas was marked with differences of
opinions among the participants about the candidacy. A number of
ulemas whom The Jakarta Post talked to have indeed given
conflicting views about the candidacy.

A kyai (ulema who leads a pesantren Islamic boarding) from
West Java said many of his colleagues want the organization to
pick PPP Secretary General Mathori Abdul Djalil as NU's
candidate.

Others chose Hamzah Haz, chairman of the PPP faction in the
House of Representatives, or Karmani, chairman of PPP branch in
East Java.

A source at the meeting said the significance of the meeting
rested not so much with the question of whether NU will be able
to lead PPP, but more on the ulemas' wishes to be given larger
roles in the domestic political arena.

Out of dissatisfaction with the existing venues such as the
government-sanctioned Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) and the
powerful Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI),
the ulemas moved to make "more contributions to the nation," as
one kyai put it.

The opening by President Soeharto of a recent congress of the
association of NU pesantren was taken by some ulemas as a green
light from the government for their more political involvement.

The kyai, who have been standing in the political sideline for
decades, responded to the favorable development by yesterday
declaring their readiness to be more involved in the nation's
future progress.

On a more practical side, Syansuri Badlawi showed the ulemas'
stance by leading them to offer prayers that God will give
President Soeharto a khusnul khotimah, which literally means "a
good ending."

"The concept of the limitation of officials' tenure came from
the Western countries. It's not an Islamic concept," Syansuri
said. "As long as a leader is still just, he can go on leading."