AS Hikam: Conflict Between PKB And PBNU Is Currently Not An Inter-Institutional, But Personal Affairs That Try To Drag Institutions

US Political Observer Hikam. (IST-nu.or.id)

JAKARTA US political observer Hikam emphasized that the current conflict between the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) Executive Board was not a feud between institutions, but a personal conflict. Hikam said that this feud was more specific between Muhaimin Iskandar, Yahyah Cholil Staquf, and Saifullah Yusuf.

"This conflict became crowded because both parties tried to drag their respective institutions into the vortex of conflict. It was as if the enemies were PKB and PBNU," Hikam said in an interview with VOI on Sunday, August 18. Hikam added that some media had difficulty distinguishing this issue, some even deliberately used the names PKB and PBNU to enlarge the coverage of conflicts.

The former Minister of State Research and Technology in the era of President Gus Dur also emphasized that this conflict could be unraveled and resolved if each party involved wanted to be legowo and resolve it in a way that was in accordance with the Nahdlatul Ulama tradition.

Furthermore, Hikam warned that if this conflict was allowed to drag on, there was a possibility that certain parties, both internally and externally, would take advantage of this situation to divide PKB and PBNU. "Those who want PKB and PBNU not to get along, certainly do not want these two great powers to unite, because if the two collaborate, their strength will be very large," added Hikam.

When asked about who the parties allegedly wanted to divide the PKB and PBNU were, Hikam was reluctant to explain further. "Even if I knew, I would not tell reporters," he joked.

Hikam also mentioned that several senior and influential figures had been proposed as mediators in this conflict. One of the names that emerged was Vice President KH Ma'ruf Amin, who was deemed appropriate to mediate because of his track record as former Rois Am PBNU, Chairman of MUI, and now serving as Vice President. "I think KH Ma'ruf Amin is the right person, it's just a matter of how to implement it and the problems in PKB and PBNU can accept it," concluded Hikam.