Salahuddin Wahid (11 September 1942 – 2 February 2020), colloquially known as Gus Solah, was an Indonesian Islamic scholar and politician. He originated from a
Nahdlatul Ulama
Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership estimates range from 40 million (2013) to over 95 million (2021), making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU also is a charitable body funding sch ...
family, and was the younger brother of Indonesian president
Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid ( ; born Abdurrahman ad-Dakhil; 7 September 1940 – 30 December 2009), though more colloquially known as Gus Dur (), was an Indonesian politician and Islamic religious leader who served as the 4th president of Indonesia, fr ...
. He served in the country's
People's Consultative Assembly (1998–1999), and as the vice chair of the
National Commission on Human Rights (2002–2004). During the
2004 Indonesian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Indonesia on 5 July 2004, with a second round on 20 September. They were the first direct presidential elections in the country; prior to a 2002 amendment to the Constitution of Indonesia, the President and Vic ...
, he became the running mate to
Wiranto
Wiranto (born 4 April 1947) is an Indonesian politician and former army general, who is serving as the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council, since December 2019. Previously, he was the Commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces from Feb ...
, though the ticket lost the election.
Early life and family
Salahuddin Wahid was born in
Jombang, in
East Java
East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...
, on 11 September 1942. His father was
Wahid Hasyim
Abdul Wahid Hasyim (June 1, 1914 – April 19, 1953) was the first Minister of Religious Affairs in the government of President Sukarno of Indonesia, a post he held in 1945, and from 1949 to 1952.
He was the son of Nahdlatul Ulama founder Has ...
, and his grandfather was
Hasyim Asy'ari
Kyai Haji Hasyim Asy'ari (14 February 1871 or 10 April 1875 – 25 July 1947) was an Indonesian ulama, National Hero and founder of Nahdlatul Ulama.
Biography
Hasyim Asy'ari was born Muhammad Hasyim in Gedang, Jombang Regency on 10 April 1875. ...
, the founder of
Nahdlatul Ulama
Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership estimates range from 40 million (2013) to over 95 million (2021), making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU also is a charitable body funding sch ...
(NU). He attended public schools in
Jakarta, graduating from SMPN 1 Cikini and SMAN 1 Jakarta, before obtaining a degree in architecture from the
Bandung Institute of Technology
The Bandung Institute of Technology ( id, Institut Teknologi Bandung, abbreviated as ITB) is a national research university located in Bandung, Indonesia. Since its establishment in 1920, ITB has been consistently recognized as Indonesia's premi ...
.
He married Farida, daughter of former
Minister of Religious Affairs Saifuddin Zuhri and sister of future minister to the same office
Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, in 1968. The couple had three children.
Career
After graduating from his studies, Wahid worked in architecture and had leadership positions in construction companies, but departed these roles following the
Asian financial crisis
The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...
. Between 1998 and 1999, Wahid served in the
People's Consultative Assembly.
Following the
fall of Suharto
Suharto resigned as President of Indonesia on 21 May 1998 following the collapse of support for his 32-year long presidency. Vice President B. J. Habibie took over the presidency.
Suharto's grip on power weakened following severe economic and ...
, multiple political parties were established which were related to NU, including the
National Awakening Party
The National Awakening Party ( id, Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa), frequently abbreviated to PKB, is an Islam-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho. (2017). ''Moving towards a Normalised Path: Political Islam in Contemporary Indonesia''. JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN (J ...
(PKB) and the ''
Ummat'' Awakening Party (PKU). Salahuddin's brother and later president
Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid ( ; born Abdurrahman ad-Dakhil; 7 September 1940 – 30 December 2009), though more colloquially known as Gus Dur (), was an Indonesian politician and Islamic religious leader who served as the 4th president of Indonesia, fr ...
(Gus Dur) joined PKB, while Salahuddin joined PKU. The two engaged in public debates published by the newspaper ''
Media Indonesia
''Media Indonesia'' is an Indonesian daily newspaper published in Jakarta. Reports say ''Media Indonesia'' is the second largest newspaper in Indonesia after the ''Kompas
''Kompas'' () is an Indonesian national newspaper from Jakarta wh ...
'' during October 1998, on the topic of their father's vision for the country. Gus Dur argued that Hasyim supported
Pancasila (the state ideology of Indonesia), while Salahuddin argued that he supported a state based on Islam. Wahid left PKU in September 1999.
In 1999, Wahid ran for the chairmanship of NU. He placed third in the first round of voting, but withdrew from the second round. Later, in 2002 he became the vice chair of the
National Commission on Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM). In the organisation, he led a team investigating
Wiranto
Wiranto (born 4 April 1947) is an Indonesian politician and former army general, who is serving as the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council, since December 2019. Previously, he was the Commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces from Feb ...
for human rights violations in
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
following the
1999 independence referendum, which eventually released a conclusion absolving Wiranto's responsibility on significant violations.
He also led the fact-seeking teams related to human rights violations during the
May 1998 riots and in the
Buru camps.
Wiranto later selected Wahid as his running mate in the
2004 Indonesian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Indonesia on 5 July 2004, with a second round on 20 September. They were the first direct presidential elections in the country; prior to a 2002 amendment to the Constitution of Indonesia, the President and Vic ...
. Wahid represented PKB, which was in coalition with
Golkar
)
, foundation =
, youth = AMPG (Golkar Party Young Force)
, women = KPPG (Golkar Party Women's Corps)
, newspaper = ''Suara Karya'' (1971–2016)
, headquarters = Jakarta
, ideology ...
, Wiranto's supporting party.
Wahid resigned from NU's central committee and KOMNAS HAM in order to participate in the election.
The ticket finished third with 22.15 percent of the votes, preventing them from advancing to the run-off which was later won by
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and
Jusuf Kalla.
From 2006 until his death, Wahid took care of the Tebuireng ''
pesantren'', which was founded by his grandfather.
Death
In January 2020, Wahid underwent an
ablation
Ablation ( la, ablatio – removal) is removal or destruction of something from an object by vaporization, chipping, erosive processes or by other means. Examples of ablative materials are described below, and include spacecraft material for a ...
in Harapan Kita Heart Hospital,
Jakarta. He was later readmitted to the hospital because he reported problems following the procedure, which required a surgery on 31 January. His condition did not improve after the surgery and he died at 20.55
local time
Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...
on 2 February. His body will be flown in the morning of 3 February to Jombang, where his
funeral is scheduled in the afternoon. He will be buried in the Tebuireng burial grounds, in the same complex near his parents, grandparents, and his late brother Abdurrahman Wahid.
Views
Wahid called for NU to avoid politics. He also called for the protection of
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
followers–who
face persecution in Indonesia–and called for the government to make use of the Constitution and the country's laws rather than
Indonesian Ulema Council
Indonesian Ulema Council ( id, Majelis Ulama Indonesia, ar, مجلس العلماء الإندونيسي, abbreviated MUI) is Indonesia's top Islamic scholars body. MUI was founded in Jakarta on July 26, 1975 during the New Order era. The council ...
's fatwas as a point of reference. Wahid also stated that while he personally believed that the Ahmadiyya movement was theologically wrong, an organisation could only be disbanded if it violated the laws, and the disbandment must be done through legal means instead of pressure from religious groups.
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wahid, Salahuddin
1942 births
2020 deaths
People from Jombang Regency
Wahid family
Indonesian Muslims
Bandung Institute of Technology alumni
Nahdlatul Ulama