Young NU Figure Urges 35th Congress to Back Prabowo-Gibran for Two Terms

A young figure from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), HRM Khalilur R Abdullah Sahlawiy, known as Gus Lilur, has urged all participants of the 35th NU Congress to make the organisation’s highest forum a moment for purifying the organisation, rather than an arena for practical political power struggles. The village kiai from Situbondo, East Java, warned that the internal conflicts and legal polemics that marred the aftermath of the 34th Congress in Lampung in 2021 must not be repeated. According to him, choosing the wrong leader would have fatal consequences for NU’s standing in the public eye. “The 34th Lampung Congress must serve as a bitter lesson that should not be forgotten. Choosing the wrong leader has a very fatal impact on NU; the organisation becomes divided, dragged into the currents of corruption and the lust for power,” Gus Lilur said in a written statement on Thursday (18/6/2026). Gus Lilur believes the 35th Congress carries a huge moral responsibility amid an uncertain global geopolitical situation. He drew an analogy between the mature thinking required of congress participants and the attitude of Islamic leaders during the Jakarta Charter incident on 18 August 1945. At that time, Muslim leaders graciously agreed to remove seven words from the Jakarta Charter to preserve the unity of the newly independent Indonesia. “The spirit of the Jakarta Charter is the mindset of an Islamic leader: choosing the greater interest over personal and factional interests. That spirit must be present in the voting chambers of the congress,” he said. As a concrete manifestation of this spirit of unity, Gus Lilur explicitly stated that the elected PBNU leader must support the continuity of the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka for two terms. He assessed that the Prabowo-Gibran duo represents a symbol of national reconciliation that has successfully united sharp polarisations within society, while also dampening rivalry between security institutions such as the TNI and Polri. “We have already seen the trail: the polarisation between the so-called ‘cebong’ and ‘kampret’, and the rivalry between state security institutions, namely the TNI and Polri. Prabowo and Gibran united all of that. For the sake of national unity, NU’s leader must also be someone who supports that continuity,” said Gus Lilur. Based on these considerations, Gus Lilur openly gave his support to Religious Affairs Minister and Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque, Prof. Dr. H. Nasaruddin Umar, to run for General Chairman of PBNU. Meanwhile, for the position of Rais Aam, he urged senior ulama Prof. Dr. KH Said Aqil Siradj to return to lead NU. He considers the two to be an ideal combination of academics, genuine ulama, and true intellectuals capable of making NU shine on the global stage. On the other hand, Gus Lilur also levelled sharp criticism at the phenomenon of figures he termed ‘half-baked gus’. He applied this term to parties he deemed to be exploiting the symbols of santri tradition for political legitimacy, without possessing adequate depth of religious knowledge. “This is not just about today. This is about the future of NU and the ummah. Whether we want to return to the path of the ulama, or continue to be dragged by the currents of power—that is what is at stake at the 35th Congress,” he concluded.