Kiai Sepuh's ultimatum: PBNU must be reformed, hand over mandate, or hold congress

KEDIRI - The forum of senior kyai of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) held a kubro deliberation at the Lirboyo Islamic Boarding School, Kediri City, East Java, Sunday, December 21. The forum was held to strengthen the integrity of the organization in the midst of internal conflicts that occurred in the body of the General Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU).

This Musyawarah Kubro was attended by hundreds of PWNU, PCNU, and NU autonomous bodies (Banom) from across Indonesia. A number of senior kiai and Mustasyar PBNU were also present, including KH Anwar Manshur, KH Nurul Huda Djazuli, KH Said Aqil Sirodj, KH Muhammad Nuh Addawami, and KH Zaki Mubarok.

Selain itu, sejumlah tokoh PBNU juga tampak hadir, termasuk Ketua Umum PBNU KH Yahya Cholil Staquf dan Ulil Abshor Abdala.

From the results of the musyawarah kubro, the participants, consisting of PBNU, PWNU, PCNU, and Banom NU leaders throughout Indonesia, agreed on three options for resolving the internal conflict of PBNU, namely islah, returning the mandate to the NU Mustasyar, and holding an extraordinary congress (MLB).

The Chairman of the PBNU, KH Yahya Cholil Staquf (Gus Yahya), asked for time to respond to the results of the kubro deliberation. He expressed his readiness to make changes with the NU Syura for the good of the organization.

"Saya dari awal menginginkan islah dengan syuriah. Saya senantiasa terbuka memberikan klarifikasi di mana pun dan kapan pun dengan menyertakan bukti yang konkret," ujarnya.

The spokesman for the Kubro Consultation, KH Oing Abdul Muid, explained that the first option was to reform with a time limit of 3x24 hours from the announcement of the results of the consultation.

"The participants of the deliberation asked the General Chairman of PBNU KH Yahya Cholil Staquf and Rais Aam KH Miftakhul Akhyar to meet and make corrections," he explained.

If the efforts to reform fail, the participants in the musyawarah kubro ask both parties to return the mandate to the NU Mustasyar. Furthermore, a committee will be formed to prepare an extraordinary muktamar. The deadline for returning the mandate is given one day after the deadline for reform ends.

The last option is the implementation of the NU Extraordinary Congress, which will be carried out if the reform and return of the mandate options are not realized. In this condition, the mandate of both parties will be revoked and the MLB committee will be immediately formed. The Kubro deliberation targets the extraordinary congress to be held before the departure of the first batch of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims.

The Musyawarah Kubro in Lirboyo is the third meeting held by the NU Elders Forum in response to the internal dynamics of PBNU. Previously, the first meeting took place at Pondok Pesantren Ploso, Kediri, and the second meeting was held at Pondok Pesantren Tebuireng, Jombang.

The forum of senior ulemas hopes that this step will be the best solution to maintain the unity and dignity of Nahdlatul Ulama.