Tributes Pour in for Gus Dur

Jakarta Globe, April Aswadi & Nurfika Osman

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday ordered flags in the country to be flown at half-mast for the next week to mourn the death of former President Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, who will be accorded a state funeral in his hometown in East Java.

Wahid, who was the country’s fourth president, serving from October 1999 to July 2001, died from health complications at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta at 6:45 p.m., presidential doctor Aris Wibudi said. He was 69.

“I invite Indonesians nationwide to pay him their highest respects,” Yudhoyono said in a nationally televised address. “I say this with prayers and hope that he is accepted at the side of God for his enormous service to the public, the nation and our beloved state.”

Yudhoyono said he would personally lead the state funeral in Jombang, while the chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly, Taufik Kiemas, would lead an official ceremony to see Wahid’s body off from Jakarta.

Aris said Wahid fell into critical condition at 6:15 p.m. and passed away 30 minutes later “due to health complications, including diabetes, kidney problems and stroke.”

Wahid’s sister, Lily Wahid, said the body would be transported to Jombang to be buried at the Tebu Ireng Islamic boarding school, which the former president founded. The body is scheduled to leave Jakarta at 8 a.m. today from Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta.

More than 100 people gathered at Cipto Mangunkusumo upon hearing news of Wahid’s deteriorating condition, and a constant stream of officials, politicians and friends came seeking news of his health.

Across the country, prayers and vigils were held to mark Wahid’s death. His private residence in Ciganjur, South Jakarta, was filled with dignitaries and public figures wanting to pay their final respects, and although access to the residence was limited, hundreds of people waited and prayed outside in the street.

Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, the Muslim organization that Wahid chaired for 15 years until 1999, said “no other figure could have built the NU to what it is today.”

“His understanding and appreciation toward other religions was remarkable,” said the Rev. Nathan Setiabudi from the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI). “He had a strong vision but was not too particularistic about Islam. … He has made great contributions, especially toward minority groups.”

Budi Santoso Tanuwijaya, secretary general of the High Council of Confucianism (Matakin), called Wahid “a person who genuinely defended marginalized ethnic groups.”

“For him, discrimination was the ultimate violation of human rights,” he said.

Sidney Jones, a Jakarta-based Southeast Asia analyst for the International Crisis Group, said Wahid promoted pluralism, and more important, “he was one of the biggest promoters of the [civil society] movement.”

Dharmawan Ronodipuro, one of Wahid’s former presidential spokesmen, remembered his former boss as being “very human.”