December 5, 2025 | 10:09 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - For an hour, Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf spoke fluently about President Prabowo Subianto's priority programs, including social assistance and sekolah rakyat (people's school). But when asked about the internal conflict within Nahdlatul Ulama's Central Board (PBNU), he paused to sip his coffee. "That's a heavy question," Saifullah said on the second floor of the Social Affairs Ministry building in Central Jakarta on Thursday, November 27, 2025.
On Wednesday, November 26, PBNU's Syuriah (Supervisory Council) dismissed Yahya Cholil Staquf as PBNU General Chair. The Council said Yahya had invited a pro-Israel scholar, Peter Berkowitz, to speak at the NU National Leadership Academy in August 2025. It also uncovered governance issues in the financial management under Yahya's leadership.
A number of people in PBNU said the conflict stemmed from business interests. Senior Nahdlatul Ulama officials have been clashing over the management of a 26,000-hectare coal-mining concession in East Kalimantan. The former Kaltim Prima Coal concession area contains an estimated 140 million metric tons of coal, worth roughly US$14.28 billion.
The previous administration under President Joko Widodo granted mining concessions to mass organizations. PBNU and the Islamic group Muhammadiyah were among the beneficiaries. Several church organizations also received concessions. But they chose to manage their coal concessions themselves. NU, however, planned to delegate the management to private investors. That decision triggered sharp disagreements among NU elites, each backed by their own financiers.
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