National

NU Intellectual backed for president by Indonesians in Saudi

Jumat, 12 April 2013 | 00:29 WIB

Jakarta, NU Online
The Supervisory Council of the Nahdlatul Ulama Scholars Association (ISNU) Mahfud MD obtained supports from Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia who want him to run for president.<>

The former Constitutional Court chief justice, who is in Saudi Arabia to conduct the umroh, a minor Islamic pilgrimage, said in an email that Ahmad Fuad, a spokesman for migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, had told him that he had wide support among Indonesians working in the country.

Fuad said that Indonesia needed a leader who would uphold the law and who had no serious legal problems, according to the email.

“We see all of these components in Pak Mahfud,” Fuad, the chairman of the executive board of the Saudi Arabia chapter Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said, according to Mahfud.

The former chief justice said that he was grateful for the support and asked Indonesian migrant workers to pray so that Indonesia could have a leader to guide it in the right direction.

The National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) has said that 1.5 million Indonesians were working in Saudi Arabia.

Editor: Sudarto Murtaufiq