NU supports Ahok as governor of Jakarta

Jakarta, NU Online
Nahdlatul Ulama, the Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, has supported the appointment of acting Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama or Ahok as the governor of Jakarta.<>

General chairman of the Nahdliyin-based organization, KH Said Aqil Siroj made the remarks on the sidelines of the launch of a national jamboree of Ma'arif NU scouts on Friday.

"Ahok had been elected by the people of DKI (Jakarta special region) and so he must be supported and respected," he said, adding that Ahok should soften his words and tones if he was officially inaugurated as governor of Jakarta.

"I advise him to change his attitude and the way he speaks. There are a lot of clerics, 'habibs' (Prophet Muhammad's descents), and Islamic boarding schools that deserve respect," he said.

On a separate occasion, the general chairman of the executive board of Pagar Nusa, which is the NU's martial art organization, Aizuddin Abdurrahman, has urged Ahok to change his behavior. Abdurrahman said Ahok's behavior so far did not reflect that of a leader's.

"A leader must be able to spread peaceful and protecting atmosphere. He must not cause restlessness or division among the people," said the grandson of late KH Hasyim Asyari, founder of the NU, one of the largest Islamic organizations in Indonesia.

Abdurrahman, meanwhile, also reminded the Islam Defenders' Front (FPI), which is engaged in a conflict with Ahok, to also reform itself if it did not want to be dissolved. The FPI, he observed, must change its propagation method and shun violence that has damaged even the reputation of Islam.

"The FPI must set the right example of how to conduct Islamic propagation. If it fails to do so, it will spoil the future generations," he added.

Editing by Sudarto Murtaufiq