When Gus Dur held a meeting, he used Arabic because he was being monitored by Intel

When Gus Dur held a meeting, he used Arabic because he was being monitored by Intel

JAKARTA – During the New Order era, Abdurrahman Wahid alias Gus Dur as General Chair of PBNU was often followed by government intelligence, because Gus Dur was a figure who was critical of the government at that time.

At the NU Congress in Situbondo, where NU decided to return to its sermons, intelligence officers roamed the conference arena, government agents even infiltrated the courtrooms, spying on every conversation of the kiai.

In an important meeting attended by kiai discussing Pancasila, Gus Dur suddenly asked Kiai Tolchah Mansoer and Kiai Achmad Siddiq to lead the session and make speeches in Arabic.

Kiai Tolchah and Kiai Achmad, who did not fully understand what Gus Dur meant, immediately led the meeting using Arabic. The meeting went smoothly because, of course, the kiai present understood Arabic completely.

After the meeting, Kiai Tolchah Mansoer asked Gus Dur about this matter. “Sir, our meeting inside was supervised by the government’s intelligence officer, that’s why I told you to speak Arabic. Why? Because the government’s intelligence officer is a kepet (abangan) intelligence officer who doesn’t speak Arabic…hehehe.”

In the book “Learning from Kiai Sahal”, there is a story about how Kiai Sahal faced the government’s password network in a unique way.

Once, at a large event that was held for several days, Kiai Sahal was routinely picked up by a well-built person on a motorbike.