Ma'ruf Amin Suggests Zulfa Reject The Appointment Of Acting Chairman Of PBNU: My Nephew, But Not According To

13th Vice President Ma'ruf Amin (Between)

LJAKARTA The 13th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia and Mustasyar PBNU, KH Ma'ruf Amin, revealed that KH Zulfa Mustofa had asked for his opinion before the impeachment decision against the General Chairperson of PBNU, KH Yahya Cholil Staquf (Gus Yahya).

In the conversation, Ma'ruf Amin admitted that he had advised Zulfa not to accept the appointment as acting general chairman (Pj).

"Zulfa asked for my opinion, I said no. If possible, just islah. If you can't, it's a congress. Finish it at the congress, don't fire it," said Ma'ruf Amin, Thursday, December 11.

However, this advice was ignored. According to Ma'ruf, Zulfa's steps were taken at the push of a number of Syuriyah members.

"My nephew, but he didn't think of me," he said.

Ma'ruf emphasized that he did not side with anyone in the polemic of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leadership which was heating up. He emphasized that his closeness to Gus Yahya or KH Zulfa Mustofa did not affect his attitude.

"I don't take sides. The important thing is that everything goes back to the constitution and organizational rules," he said.

Ma'ruf also refused to give his blessing to any party acting outside the provisions of the organization. He asked that the resolution of the conflict be returned entirely to the legal mechanism in accordance with the NU Articles of Association and Bylaws (AD/ART), not through unilateral actions.

For information, the polemic in PBNU's body emerged after a group of parties calling themselves the Sultan Group established KH Zulfa Mustofa as Acting General Chair of PBNU, replacing Gus Yahya, who was still valid in office based on the results of the 34th Congress in Lampung.

The difference in interpretation of the NU's internal constitution has now sparked concern for elderly kiai who are trying to reduce the escalation of conflict so as not to spread.