Ambassador Munu Joins 100 Diplomats To Sign Book of Condolence
Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia yesterday joined over 100 diplomats from different missions at the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh to sign a Book of Condolence opened in honour of the late former Indonesian President, Abdurrahman Wahid, commonly called ‘Gus Dur.’ His Excellency, Wusu B. Munu, Ambassadors from the United States, Pakistan, India, Burkina Faso, Senegal, France, Morocco, Egypt, were among the first to sign the condolence book. (Photo: Abdurrahman Wahid)
“I have to express my sadness at the loss of Mr. Wahid, he was a great leader to be admired and model for us all to follow,” a Western Diplomat wrote.
“He was an excellent leader and it was an honor for me to have been an Ambassador to Indonesia during his tenure,” said one former diplomat.
Many diplomats expressed sadness at his passing. He was reported to be respected for his virtues, simplicity, personal strength, and adherence to Muslim values.
Below is a statement issued by the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh.
Abdurrahman Wahid was an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the fourth President of the Republic of Indonesia from 1999 to 2000. The long-time President of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the founder of the National Awakening Party (PKB), he was the first elected President of Indonesia after the resignation of Suharto in 1998.
Born in Jombang, East Java, August 4, 1940, Abdurrahman Wahid was the oldest of six brothers. His father, Abdul-Wahid Hasyim, was the first minister of religious affairs for Indonesia’s first President, Sukarno. His grandfather, Hasyim Asy’ari, was a prominent Muslim cleric and one among the founders of Nahdlatul Ulama in 1926, the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia with recently more than forty million members.
He studied at a number of Islamic boarding schools, before moving on to Cairo’s Al-Azhar Islamic University in 1964. In 1966, he left Egypt to study literature at the University of Baghdad, Iraq. He was married to Shinta Nuriyah in 1968 and had four daughters. He passed away in Jakarta, on December 30, 2009, following a long illness. He was 69.
By Alhaji Jalloh, Information Attaché, Sierra Leone Embassy, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaStay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
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