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NU chairman skips meeting with Jokowi
Forging ties: Presidential frontrunner Joko âJokowiâ Widodo (left) pays a courtesy visit to Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin (right) in Jakarta on Friday
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span class="inline inline-none">Forging ties: Presidential frontrunner Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (left) pays a courtesy visit to Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin (right) in Jakarta on Friday. They performed a Friday prayer together at Muhammadiyah headquarters' mosque. (Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf)
The absence of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Said Aqil Siradj was glaringly evident when presidential frontrunner Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo visited the office of the country's largest Muslim organization in Central Jakarta on Friday afternoon.
Accompanied by his aides, including Anies Baswedan, Jokowi was greeted by other NU executives, such as executive board deputy chief Asad Said Ali and secretary-general Marsudi Suhud, before the group held a closed-door meeting.
Said, who openly supported Jokowi's rival Prabowo Subianto in the July 9 presidential election, apparently avoided meeting with the non-active Jakarta governor. Said's colleagues, however, insisted that Said could not come to see Jokowi because he held his Friday prayer at the Al-Munawaroh Mosque in Ciganjur, South Jakarta.
The mosque is located in the compound of former president and former NU chairman Abdurrahman 'Gus Dur' Wahid.
'He [Said] held his Friday prayer in Ciganjur,' said Asad, former head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), when asked about Said's absence during Jokowi's courtesy call.
Asad described Jokowi's visit as a silaturahmi (friendly visit) 'as the election has ended'.
'He [Jokowi] said he is waiting patiently for the result from the KPU [General Elections Commission] and exercising tawakal [wholehearted surrender to God's will] and thanked [us] for the NU community's prayers,' Asad added.
Asad claimed that most NU members voted for Jokowi.
Earlier, Jokowi visited the country's second-largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, and performed his Friday prayers at the Muhammadiyah mosque in Central Jakarta.
Jokowi was greeted by Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin, who is also the chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). Din was accompanied by other top Muhammadiyah executives.
'On Friday, which is the noblest day in Islam, I thank Pak Jokowi for coming back to Muhammadiyah for a silaturahmi, and for Friday prayer,' Din told reporters after the prayer.
Din later recalled Jokowi's previous visit to Muhammadiyah in March, before the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) officially endorsed Jokowi as its presidential candidate. At that time, Jokowi also led a dhuhur (midday prayer) gathering at the request of Din, apparently to appeal to Muslim voters ahead of the presidential race.
Din also said that the Muhammadiyah community was praying for a good outcome for Jokowi, amid claims of victory ' based on differing quick-count results ' made by both Jokowi and Prabowo, pending the final result from the KPU on July 22.
'The results of the quick counts, indeed, are not official yet. But they can usually be used as a reference. Therefore, we hope the [ongoing] process of recapitulation [by the KPU] runs transparently, without any intervention from anyone,' Din said. Jokowi has also expressed his intention of meeting with Prabowo in an effort to avoid clashes between the supporters of the two candidates. Prabowo warmly welcomed Jokowi's plan.
'Why not? I am always available,' the former three-star Army general responded when asked about the potential meeting by reporters.
