TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa admits that she would always remember the message once said by the late KH Abdurrahman Wahid or Gus Dur, which was to always protect minorities.
“One day when Gus Dur was the President, he gave a speech in the United States. Gus Dur said that ‘I protect minorities in my country, please, protect the minorities here [in the US]',” said Khofifah who is also the Nahdlatul Ulama Central Leaders Chairman in the 8-year commemoration of Gus Dur’s death.
She says that Gus Dur’s message has a deep meaning to it, which is in accordance with his teachings to love one another.
During the event, Khofifah tells a story about the last wishes Gus Dur said to her, which was to write ‘Here rests a humanist’ on his tombstone. She says that she did not have the courage to inform Gus Dur’s wife at first, but she finally had the courage to do so.
Khofifah is also amazed by Gus Dur’s figure during his lifetime and when he led PKB (national awakening party) who always defended justice.
Antara
