Jombang, NU Online
The leader of Tebuireng Islamic boarding school (pesantren) Jombang, KH Sholahudin Wahid (Gus Sholah), expected NU cadres to lead East Java. The grandson of the founder of NU said in the upcoming 2013 gubernatorial election, NU cadres should remain united.<>
"In the coming gubernatorial election, let's not hope NU cadres to insistently compete each other and consequently there will be vote splitting among Nahdliyin (NU followers). The candidate must be one," he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with former vice president Jusuf Kalla in Jombang on Monday (17/12).
Gus Sholah also expected the Nahdlatul Ulama Regional Board (PWNU) of Easj Java to carry out a survey to choose the best cadre from the Indonesia's Islamic organization.
"(Prospective governor) from NU is a must. It is time for NU to have a governor. To determine the proper and reasonable NU cadre to be governor, there should be a survey," Gus Sholah said.
Meanwhile, the East Java branch of the National Awakening Party (PKB) is still selecting candidates to compete in the 2013 gubernatorial elections. The two most prominent names, according to East Java PKB deputy Mas’ud Anan, are Saifullah Yusuf and Khofifah Indar Parawansa.
Both of them are Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) cadres. Saifullah is the current deputy governor while Khofifah is chairman of the NU Muslimat Central Leadership. According to Mas'ud, the party will only support one candidate. “PKB has learned from the previous elections that the Nahdliyin community were not united in their votes where there are cadres from the party are running simultaneously," Mas'ud said on Dec. 3.
In the 2005 gubernatorial election, the NU figure who ran for governor was Khofifah. Meanwhile, Saifullah and KH Ali Maschan Moesa, East Java NU chairman at that time, each ran for the deputy governor post. "Therefore, we will only support a single candidate from the NU in the upcoming gubernatorial election," Masud said.
But the East Java PKB, he said, has not determined which candidate to support because the party management was still hearing the views of local officials cadres on the candidates. Most, however, tend to go with Khofifah.
Separately, East Java NU chairman KH Mutawakkil Alallah said that his organization would not go into practical politics in accordance with NU’s 1926 principles. Even so, Mutawakkil said, they will listen to what the NU people have to say.
According to the supervisor of the Zainul Hasan Islamic School, in Genggong, Probolinggo, the growing sentiment among the cadres is an NU cadre to lead East Java in 2013. He said, the two names submitted by the ‘faithful’ were Saifullah and Khofifah.
The two names will be submitted to the PKB, for the final selection. "We will approve the choice and ask the party to remain united," Mutawakkil said.
Editor : Sudarto Murtaufiq
Contributor : Muslim Abdurrahman
