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NU to reschedule congress after govt announces stricter curbs
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) has said it will reschedule its national congress, set to be held in Lampung, in response to the government’s plan to impose stricter mobility curbs at the end of the year.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (second left) expresses his appreciation for attendees at a Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) gathering at the Jakarta Convention Center in 2019. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A)
N
ahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country’s largest Islamic organization, has said it will reschedule its national congress, set to be held in Lampung, in response to the government’s plan to impose stricter mobility curbs at the end of the year.
The government is set to impose nationwide level 3 public activity restrictions (PPKM) from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2 in an effort to prevent an increase in COVID-19 cases during the year-end holiday period. The NU congress had been planned for Dec. 23 to 25.
The congress’ organizing committee chairman, Muhammad Imam Aziz, said the committee would reschedule the congress but said no final decision on the new date had been made.
“We have yet to discuss whether [the congress] will be held before Dec. 24 or after Jan. 2,” Imam told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, adding that NU would comply with directives from the national COVID-19 task force.
The congress is set to be held at several venues, namely Malahayati University, State Islamic University (UIN) Raden Intan, the University of Lampung and the Pondok Pesantren (Islamic boarding school) Darussa’adah.
Imam said preparations for the congress were set to continue as planned even though the new dates had yet to be decided.
He added that the committee had expected to welcome 2,500 NU members from across the country for the congress, half of the congress’ usual 5,000 attendees. They would have had to comply with health protocols, and the committee would have provided free polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on their arrival to and departure from Lampung.
