Hasyim Muzadi: Rudd would improve Australians’ view on Islam

Jakarta, NU Online
General Chairman of the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) KH Hasyim Muzadi said here on Monday that Kevin Rudd’s election victory last Saturday as a new prime minister would be able to improve Australians’ view on Islam in the beloved country of ours.

He suggested that at least the newly prime minister would give positive impact for the Labor Party as Rudd’s political career had ever rejected Australia to send its troops to Iraq.<>

Hasyim made the remark in dealing with the relationship between Australia and Muslims in Indonesia following the Liberal Party’s John Howard having ever accused Indonesia as a terrorists place defeated by the Labor Party of Kevin Rudd.

“So Rudd would be more flexible in viewing Islam in Indonesia. But we should be able to manage the (positive) point of view by cultivating a better ties and never do mistakes,” Hasyim said.

Australians entered a new political era Sunday after electing a Chinese-speaking former diplomat as their first new prime minister in more than a decade, and handing four-term leader John Howard a humiliating loss.

Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd's emphatic victory swings Australia toward the political left after almost 12 years of conservative rule, and marks a generational shift that will result in a greater focus on issues such as global warming.

Saturday's elections brought a sharp and mortifying end to Howard's career, and he looked likely to suffer the further embarrassment of losing his own seat in Parliament — only the second sitting prime minister in 106 years of federal government to suffer that fate. (mad)