By: Titi Wulandari) *
Indonesian people are certainly very familiar with the companion figure of Joko Widodo in the upcoming April 17 Presidential Election contest, he is Ma’ruf Amin who has a remarkable track record since he was young.
The figure of the charismatic Kiai, who is familiarly called Abah Ma’ruf, served as the PBNU National Aim for 2015 – 2020.
In the same time he also served as General Chairperson of the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) for the 2015 – 2020 period. Various great achievements have actually been seen from the figure of Abah Kiai Ma’ruf when he was young.
History records, young Ma’ruf Amin was elected as a member of the DKI Jakarta DPRD in the 1971 election. He entered through the Nahdlatul Ulama Party (PNU). Interestingly, at that time he was only 28 years old and presiding over the inaugural session of the DKI Jakarta DPRD accompanied the oldest DPRD member at that time, Sjamsidae Murdono from the Golkar Party.
KH Ma’ruf Amin always prioritizes pro-people policies. Do not look at certain backgrounds. All policies that he takes are aimed at mutual benefit and the community always accepts them openly.
At that time the people also took their side back to Ma’ruf Amin, and became members of the DKI Jakarta DPRD. At that time he managed to escape to the parliamentary seat through the United Development Party (PPP). He served as chairman of Commission A. This commission was in charge of government affairs.
Gus Oqi also said that Ma’ruf Amin’s figure had very good insight in politics. His collaboration with DKI Jakarta executives at that time showed a lot of progress made. With his position as Vice President 01 accompanying Joko Widodo, his party certainly feels happy. This is because the program offered will make Indonesia progress.
The big step taken by Kiai Ma’ruf was to return NU to become a religious organization. He managed to mobilize a religious discussion forum (Bahtsul Masail). In its development, Bahtsul Masail became NU’s intellectual foundation.
This activity has succeeded in establishing itself as a respected cleric. His figure as a Religious Leader was not inferior to his prestige as a politician.
His collaboration with former DKI Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo is certainly an excellent formulation. This bright hope can be seen from the economic concept that will be rolled out. Ma’ruf Amin remains consistent with the theory of the New Flow of Indonesian Economy. This concept has an equitable economic breath. This formulation is expected to significantly reduce the disparity between rich and poor.
But still not a few opponents who consider Ma’ruf Amin as a weakness point Jokowi as incumbent presidential candidate. This was apparent when Jokowi decided on the vice presidential election in August 2018, and many parties were immediately skeptical and doubted Kiai Ma’ruf regarding the performance of public communication, including in the debate.
However, the context of the debate cannot yet be used as a measure of the kiai’s personal qualities. The reason is, it is not impossible that Mufuf actually reverses all predictions of people – people who doubt it at the debate.
Of course it will be a big mistake if the challenger Prabowo – Sandi underestimates the figure of Kiai who has a wealth of experience in politics.
As a figure of Political Ulama, Ma’ruf Amin has a long history in terms of political communication. This is reasonable, considering that since he was young, he was not only known as a politician, but also an accomplished preacher. This means that the figure of Abah Ma’ruf is undoubtedly related to his ability to speak in public.
Even though he is no longer young, the thoughts of the figure of Moruf are still sharp and are considered in line with Jokowi. Last night’s debate noted that when Sandiaga Uno asked about matters related to labor, Ma’ruf Amin seemed to remain on his own rhythm and was not carried away by questions from Sandiaga. Even KH Ma’ruf Amin was able to talk about new innovations, such as the discourse on Cyber University.
The choice of words used by Ma’ruf Amin also reflects his knowledge and position as a scholar. In addition to reciting a series of verses and hadiths, Mu’ruf Amin also uses religious language. In addition, the term 10 years challenge was also considered to be able to rival Gimick’s debate opponent Sandiaga Uno.
) * The author is a sociopolitical observer