Home > Abdurrahman Wahid

Despite his seeming inattention to governmental issues, he succeeded in decentralizing many aspects of the governance of Indonesia. He also repealed many of the laws that discriminated against the Indonesian ChineseIndonesian Chinese refers to overseas Chinese living in Indonesia. Indonesian Chinese own a large fraction of the economy, and have frequently been viewed with suspicion by native Indonesians. The Indonesian Chinese consist of many unique cultural groups and even went as far as admitting that his maternal grandmother was part Chinese. He is widely known as a moderate Muslim cleric and the Nahdatul Ulama, which traditionally is led by members of his family, has been known to collaborate with other religious groups in Indonesia. He is well-known as a very frank speaker, and is respected as an elder by many Indonesians, as evident in his nickname "Gus Dur".

Despite his impeachment, Gus Dur is still active in Indonesian politics, providing witty and sometimes sarcastic commentary on Indonesian politics. He publicly admitted that he abstained from voting in the second round of 2004 Indonesian presidential electionWiranto, Megawati Sukarnoputri, Amien Rais, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Hamzah Haz. Presidential elections were held in Indonesia on Monday July 5, and Monday September 20, 2004. In the second round former security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono defea[1] as a sign of protest against the General Election Committee (KPU) for disqualifying him from candidacy.

External link

• Official website