Muktamar Ke-35 NU dan Politik Kiai di Mata Fachry Ali | Menjadi Indonesia #46

The 35th NU Congress in 2026 in Tambakberas, Jombang, is predicted to be the most high-profile since Cipasung in 1994, given the increasingly uncontrollable tensions within the PBNU elite. In Episode 46 of "Becoming Indonesia," NU Online featured socio-political observer Fachry Ali, a figure who attended five NU Congresses: 1989 in Krapyak, 1994 in Cipasung, 1999 in Lirboyo, 2004 in Solo, and 2010 in Makassar. He warned that factionalism within the PBNU should not end like the post-1955 elections, which failed to resolve problems and instead fueled regional separatist movements like PRRI/Permesta. Fachry hopes that the upcoming Tambakberas Congress will not be dictated by external political interests. "We must be able to create a congress that creates a situation where factionalism within NU can disappear," he stressed. If this mission fails and the congress cannot quell group egos, Fachry warned that NU could lose legitimacy and become trapped in local "anarchism," where regional clerics and powerful figures would move independently to become independent institutions without regard for the formal structure of the PBNU. Motivated by NU Online Editor-in-Chief Ivan Aulia Ahsan, Fachry also reflected on his journey in "Becoming Indonesia." As an Acehnese steeped in Javanese culture, he views Indonesia as a miracle of unity built collectively by activists in various regions independently, not merely Java-centric. Recalling that Indonesian unity is bound by symbolic similarities such as religion, Fachry concluded with a stern warning ahead of independence that no one party should feel supreme over the foundations of the nation. "The claim that they own Indonesia can no longer be made by one ethnic group, let alone one party. Sometimes these parties control Pancasila, feeling like Pancasila belongs to them," Fachry concluded. [AN]. Watch the full episode of "Becoming Indonesia" on the NU Online YouTube channel, Friday, July 17, 2026, at 8:00 PM WIB. Video segments: 00:00:00 - Excerpts and intro 00:01:31 - Intellectual contact with NU via Gus Dur 00:17:06 - Java, NU, and modernity 00:30:30 - Personal contact with NU 00:37:46 - NU Congress: Rural elites gather 00:42:19 - Cipasung Congress: NU vis-a-vis the State 00:54:58 - Will the 35th NU Congress end factionalism? 01:19:35 - Indonesia united by symbolic equality 01:31:02 - Closing and credits video ___________ NU Online - Official Media of Nahdlatul Ulama Super App | Website | TikTok | X | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify Follow Us: https://linktr.ee/NUOnline #mutamarnu #muktamar35nu #menjadiindonesia #nahdlatululama #nuonline #pbnu #fachryali #interview #nahdliyyin #kiai #kyai #politics #indonesianpolitics #nupolitics