NU United to Support Jokowi-JK Government

Jakarta, Oct 23 (Antara) - General chairman of the executive board of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) KH Said Aqil Siradj has said the NU has united to support the new government of President Joko Widodo and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla. "We are now behind President Jokowi and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla. The NU will support the constitution and is ready to back the government," he stated at a press conference here on Thursday that was held in connection with the planned conference of one of the biggest Islamic organizations in Indonesia. He revealed that he met with Vice-President Jusuf Kalla and congratulated him besides expressing his readiness to support him. "I told Vice-President Jusuf Kalla that the NU was behind him," he added. Said Aqil explained that in the recent presidential election, the NU clerics were divided into two groups with one section supporting Prabowo-Hatta pair and the other one backing Jokowi-JK duo. The two pairs have competed to win the sympathy of tens of millions of NU voters, mostly in Java island, as part of their efforts to win the election. (*)