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Editorial: Go with God, Gus
Abdurrahman Wahid, more affectionately known as Gus Dur, was the most colorful, if not the most illustrious among six presidents Indonesia has had
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bdurrahman Wahid, more affectionately known as Gus Dur, was the most colorful, if not the most illustrious among six presidents Indonesia has had.
He was a leader whose vision for this nation was so far ahead of his time, certainly ahead of the Muslim Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) organization, which he once chaired, and in many respects also ahead of the Indonesian people, whom he led for 19 months.
His views on nation, nation-building, nationhood, and specifically on Islam and the place of religion in the state, often went against mainstream thinking. Although brought up in rural-traditionalist NU surrounding, his views cut across religious, ethnic and cultural lines that divide this highly diverse nation.
Gus Dur never cut the figure of a typical politician. Instead he was more of a thinker, a religious leader (an unorthodox one), a writer, columnist, and a humorist all packed into one. Combined with his vision, he was a great statesman, a cut above other leaders and thinkers of his time.
His informality made him the Indonesian president that was the closest to his people. He broke away from the imperial style that all other presidents before and after him felt comfortable with. But this informality and his relentless jokes became too much to bear for the nation’s elite and together they conspired to bring his presidency to an abrupt end in 2001.
Gus Dur passed away on Wednesday, but his legacy will outlast that of other presidents who have served much longer than him.
If and when his vision of a true pluralist Indonesia is realized, this nation will look back and begin to appreciate that Gus Dur had already defined the true diverse Indonesia for them back in the 1990s and 2000s.
Thank you, Gus Dur. May you go with God.
