Former President Abdurrahman Wahid (69) a.k.a Gus Dur, has passed away this afternoon at 6.45 pm at the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Jakarta.Gus Dur, born on 4 August 1940 in Jombang, East Java, has played important roles in our country among others leading Nadhatul Ulama (N.U) the largest Islamic Ulama organization, Chairman of the Jakarta Cultural Institute, Chairman of Democratic Forum, and President from 1999 until 2001.
All his life Gus Dur has shown his strong commitment as a defender of human rights & democracy since the authoritarian rule of former President Soeharto. In spite of his leadership in N.U Gus Dur has always been respected by people of other religions in Indonesia. During his presidency, the Chinese New Year was recognized as national holiday.
Further, President SBY has announced 7 days of national mourning, and he will lead the funeral of Gus Dur which shall be held in Jombang, East Java, tomorrow.
In this regards, I would like to express my deepest condolence and sympathy to the family of Gus Dur. I pray to God that his soul will rest in peace.
16 comments:
I'm quite sad to hear this. He always seemed to me to a very interesting man. Nobody quite like him in Indonesian politics
Pj,
Yes, he is different from the other leaders. We will surely missed him.
innalillahiwainnailaihiraji'un
Sad. Oh by the way, thank you for commenting on my blog. This is a wonderful blog you have here. keep it coming.
Umihoney,
Innalillahiwainnailaihiraji'un
may his soul rest in peace
The Chaos,
It's a pleasure my friend. Thank you for the kind words.
Mr. Nizam,
Very sorry to hear this loss. Hope that there will be more leaders with good qualities in Politics in Indonesia & the rest of the world.
Mystic Earth,
We lost one of the greatest man, thank you for your symphaty.
Very sad to hear this morning that Gus Dur had died. A truly fine intellect has been lost and a generous heart has stopped. May he rest peacefully and may his memory be strong.
We have placed a flag at half mast at our gate. It will stay for one week; but Gus Dur is with us always in memory.
Happy New Year Harry to you and your family; and keep up the good work on the Blawg!
Duckham,
Gus Dur will always be in the memory of most Indonesian people.
Thank you for your New Year's wishes.
Innalillahi wainnailaihi rojiuun. he is my father on my religy
Nursalim,
He is a father to many Indonesian Moslems
It's always a sad event if someone with a track record like Gus Dur, dies. Even though he is almost 70 y/o
Especially because of his moderate and tolerant principles, his open minded views and policies on ethnic and religious minorities he deserves eternal respect and admiration. Even the small Jewish community in Indonesia, I just read in one of the obituaries, longs for his benevolent approach and his plea for diplomatic and commercial relations with Israel.
And of course his sense of humor is worth to remember forever.
Colson,
It's very sad indeed. He was the strong advocate on pluralism and transparency, defender of human rights. He is also a symbol of moderate Moslem as the majority in Indonesia making us different from those in the Middle East or other countries.
For Gus Dur, I love you full. May his soul rest in peace.
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