Wiranto rejects backing for him to lead the nation

Wiranto rejects backing for him to lead the nation

JOMBANG, East Java (JP): Minister of Defense and
Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto yesterday
gently declined some highly influential East Javan religious
teachers' support for him to lead the nation.

Attending a celebration commemorating the 160th anniversary of
the Bahrul Ulm Islamic boarding school here, Wiranto dismissed
speculation that he had ambitions to one day become the head of
state.

"I am one of the leaders of the nation already," he told a
discussion with 400 religious teachers from East Java who packed
the boarding school's central parking lot.

"If you want to express your support for me, just pray to God
so that I can successfully fulfill all my duties," he said.

Expressions of support for Wiranto's promotion came from both
the host and the participants. The preachers are traditionally
very influential individuals as they are regarded as both
community and religious role models.

Hasib Abdul Wahab, chairman of the Bahrul Ulum foundation,
which runs the 7,000-student school, was one of the first to
express his praise for Wiranto.

"I think he (Wiranto) fits well as to what we need to become
the nation's future leader," Hasib said, in his address to the
opening ceremony.

Stronger support came from Badli Masduqi, a religious teacher
from the Probolinggo district.

"If the nation does not have other candidates, Wiranto is the
one," Badli said.

Habib, a teacher from Surabaya, suggested Wiranto should
become the leader of the reform movement.

"The Armed Forces commander should become the number one
person for legal and political reform in the country," he said.

Bahrul Ulum is one of the four biggest Islamic boarding
schools in the town of Jombang, a one-and-a-half hour drive from
the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya. It is known for its
many prominent figures who have made their names on the country's
political stage.

One of these was K.H. Wahab Hasbullah, who established the
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization in 1926, together with
K.H. Hasyim Asy'ari. Hasyim was the grandfather of current NU
chairman Abdurrahman Wahid.

Wahab's father, K.H. Wahid Wahab, was minister of civilian-
military relations and then minister of religious affairs in the
early 1950s.

The discussion, dominated by NU members, was not attended by
Abdurrahman, who is also a Jombang native.

"Gus Dur (Abdurrahman's popular name) was not invited to the
discussion," Choirul Anam, chairman of the East Java chapter of
the Anshor Youth Movement, a NU youth wing, told The Jakarta
Post.

He did not explain why Abdurrahman, who now lives in Jakarta,
was not invited.

Addressing the participants, Wiranto called on the religious
teachers to be at the front line of the reform movement.

"ABRI notes that teachers and leaders of Moslem organizations
are figures who have the authority and both cultural and
spiritual legitimacy to persuade and ask the Islamic community to
join hands for reform," he said.

"And I believe teachers will not further any political
interests through their activities," he added. (imn)