نهضة العلماء
His political career began in 1968 as a member of the West Kalimantan Provincial Representative Council. He later moved to Jakarta, became a member of the Parliament in 1971, first as a member of the Muslim Nahdlatul Ulama Party. After the political fusion which joined all Islamist parties into one party and the withdrawal of Nahdlatul Ulama from politics, he became in 1973 a member of the newly formed Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP).