Jakarta – Tensions between the nation's largest Muslim organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and its de facto political vehicle, the National Awakening Party (PKB) have reached new heights after the Islamic party reported its ex-secretary-general, Lukman Edy, to the police.
The PKB's Central Executive Board (DPP) reported Lukman to the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) on Monday for defamation after he alleged that PKB chairman Muhaimin Iskandar had not been transparent in managing the party's funds.
Lukman made the statement last week during a meeting with an NU special committee, which seeks to investigate the deepening rift between the NU and the PKB.
NU leaders established the committee to "revisit history" and "return the PKB to its roots", claiming the current PKB leadership had strayed from the NU's foundations and that party elites had systematically steered the PKB away from the NU.
In the past few days, several regional branches of the PKB have also reported Lukman to their respective regional police for defamation, spreading hate speech and dispersing false news.
The list includes party branches in Pasuruan, Sidoarjo, Surabaya and Sumenep in East Java, Sukoharjo in Central Java, Bekasi in West Java, as well as PKB regional offices in Jakarta, Banten and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).
In East Java, Lukman was reported to the police by Muhaimin's brother, Halim Iskandar, who said Lukman's statement about the party's poor and untransparent financial management was a "vile slander".
Lukman said he was not afraid to face the barrage of criminal reports against him.
"My statement is a stern criticism against Muhaimin's leadership. As a party leader, he should not become an anticritic," he said on Tuesday as reported by Tempo.co.
On Wednesday, Lukman appointed close to 100 lawyers from the NU and the organization's youth wing, GP Ansor, to defend him at court.
The NU has historically been an incubator for the PKB but the two institutions have seen their relationship become strained multiple times in recent years, including during an NU leadership race in 2021 in which Yahya Cholil Staquf triumphed over incumbent Said Aqil Siradj, a close ally of Muhaimin.
Tensions have again escalated over the past week after Muhaimin, in his capacity as House of Representatives deputy speaker, initiated a legislative inquiry into the government's organization of this year's haj, which was marred by allegations of poor service and misuse of the country's haj quota.
The NU said Muhaimin's inquiry was targeting Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, the younger brother of Yahya. (nal)