A former speaker of both the House of Representatives and the People’s Consultative Assembly, Idham was a charismatic figure

within the NU. His body is lying in state in his residence in Cipete, South Jakarta.

As some of his family members reside in his hometown in South Kalimantan, Idham’s burial is scheduled for Monday at the Darul Quran Islamic boarding school, which is run by his family, in Cisarua, West Java.

Idham’s health had deteriorated drastically since he suffered a heart attack and stroke in 1999. He spent most of the past 10 years bedridden.

“Father died at 8 a.m. this morning. We ask for your prayers so Allah accepts all of his good deeds,” Idham’s son Saiful Hadi, the editor-in-chief of national news agency Antara, said Sunday.

“We also ask you to forgive him his transgressions,” he added.

Condolences have come from a number of prominent figures, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who called him “a national, public figure who made significant contributions to the development of the nation and the state”.

“The President expresses his deepest condolences,” presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said.
Muslim preacher Zainuddin MZ said Idham was “a moderate cleric who preserved his dignity in his political activities”.

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, who also chairs the United Development Party (PPP), instructed the headquarters and all regional branches of the PPP to lower the Indonesian and party
flags to half mast for three days out of respect to Idham, the founder of the PPP.

“He was an exemplary figure not only to PPP members, but also to the entire nation,” Suryadharma said.

Idham was born in Setui, South Kalimantan, on Aug. 27, 1922. His foray into politics came after he joined NU, which took part in the 1955 legislative elections.

At the age of 34, Idham became the youngest chairman of NU and retained the post for 28 years until 1984, making him the organization’s longest-serving chairman.

He was replaced by the grandson of NU founder Hasyim Asy’arie, Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, who removed NU from the country’s political stage.

Gus Dur’s move created conflict between him and Idham, who founded PPP in 1973.

Idham’s bureaucratic career began in the mid-1950s, when he served as deputy to then
Indonesian prime minister Ali Sastroadmidjojo.

He also served as coordinating public welfare minister under then president Soeharto, and as speaker of the House and the Assembly between 1968 and 1977.

After leaving politics, Idham focused on education, by establishing and developing the Daarul Maarif Islamic boarding school in Jakarta and Darul Quran Islamic boarding school in Bogor.

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