Muhammad Nafik and Bontank Poer and Slamet Susanto, Surakarta – A showdown between former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and incumbent chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Hasyim Muzadi over the NU chairmanship heated up on the second day of the organization's national congress here on Monday with two camps mobilizing their ranks.
Hasyim, who is seeking reelection as the chairman of the NU tanfidziyah (executive body), rallied support from inside the NU national congress through a speech defending his reelection bid, while Gus Dur's camp – which opposes Hasyim's reelection – fought from the outside, with a demonstration and lobbying.
Speaking before 3,500 congress participants, Hasyim spoke out against Gus Dur camp's accusation that he had politicized NU by being nominated as a vice presidential candidate in the presidential election.
He contended in his accountability speech that he was non active as NU chairman when he ran in the presidential election as his position at the time was taken over by acting chairman Masdar F. Mas'udi. "Why have I been accused of violating khittah?" Hasyim asked, referring to NU's pledge to shun politics.
His accountability speech received both applause and laughter from the participants, showing that support for the incumbent chairman remained solid.
In a session to respond to the report, at least 12 provincial NU branches from outside Java accepted it, with 10 of them announcing their support for Hasyim. They were branches from Papua, Banten, Lampung, Aceh, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Bangka Belitung, West Nusa Tenggara, Jambi and Maluku.
"Under Pak Hasyim, NU's existence can be further felt in the regions and this had not happened previously. Besides, NU is getting better administratively and organizationally," said AF Mafthukhin, a delegate from Nabire in Papua.
A participant from Temanggung, Central Java, Chanidar, made a similar comment and said that one of Hasyim's achievements was that he managed to collect more than Rp 5.4 billion for NU's coffers.
Hasyim said the money, the sources of which remain unclear, would be handed over to a new leader of the NU central board if he was not reelected.
In a related development on Monday, dozens of Gus Dur's supporters continued an anti-Hasyim protest outside the Donohudan Haj Dormitory, the congress venue, demanding that the NU central board be transparent in its financial report.
The Gus Dur camp has nominated charismatic cleric and poet Mustofa "Gus Mus" Bisri, but it is not yet clear how strong the support is from structural NU branches for him.
To further block Hasyim's nomination, Gus Dur has run for the chairmanship of the syuriah (law making body), which has the power to censure candidates for the chairmanship of tanfidziyah.
Gus Dur faces the incumbent Sahal Mahfudz. However, many congress participants have said that Sahal, who also chairs the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), would likely withdraw his nomination bid if Gus Dur presses ahead with his plan.
If Hasyim is reelected, a split is imminent in the nation's largest Muslim organization as Gus Dur has repeatedly threatened to establish a NU splinter group if the incumbent leader wins a second five-year term.