Muhaimin to stay at House top post

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta ,  Semarang   |  Fri, 03/28/2008 11:27 AM  |  National

Muhaimin Iskandar will remain a House of Representatives deputy speaker despite his removal as chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB), party executives said Thursday.

"We will not request the replacement of Muhaimin as deputy House speaker," PKB secretary general Yenny Zannuba Wahid told The Jakarta Post.

"He will stay at his current post."

She said the party's central executive board voted Wednesday night against Muhaimin, a nephew of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

The party, co-founded by Gus Dur in 1999, voted Muhaimin resign as PKB chairman for reasons unexplained.

Yenny, daughter of Gus Dur, declined to publicly specify the motives behind the replacement of Muhaimin.

In response, Muhaimin said Thursday he was considering his party's request to step down, denying reports he was fired from the PKB's top post.

"I was not fired but I was told to resign. It is up to me what I decide," he told the press at the House.

"I will pray for one or two days to ask God for direction. I will also consult my seniors, including Gus Dur."

Muhaimin said his party's internal conflict would not affect his position as the House's deputy speaker.

Yenny said Muhaimin must accept the PKB's decision as he has lost the trust of the party's central board, particularly Gus Dur who is its patron chief.

Speaking in Semarang, Gus Dur said the decision to dismiss Muhaimin was final.

"It's an internal party affair," he said when asked about the reasons behind the decision.

Muhaimin was elected PKB chairman during a 2005 extraordinary congress in Semarang amid opposition from PKB's East Java board led by Choirul Anam.

Anam now chairs a new party established by Nahdlatul Ulama activists and clerics opposed to Gus Dur.

Effendy Choirie, who chairs the PKB faction in the House, said his party had not set a deadline for Muhaimin to respond.

"I hope Cak Imin will approach the request with an open heart. I don't expect him to follow his predecessors Matori Abdul Djalil and Alwi Shihab," he said.

Matori filed a complaint to court after he was fired by the PKB at an extraordinary congress in July 2001.

The former deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) was reportedly dismissed because he attended an MPR plenary session impeaching Gus Dur as the country's fourth president.

After being ousted from the party, Matori and his loyal supporters went ahead with his political leadership. He then established a splinter PKB faction.

Matori was later appointed defense minister under the leadership of president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who succeeded Gus Dur.

Alwi, who was fired in 2004 as PKB chairman, followed suit by filing a similar complaint. He lost the case at the district court but won on appeal at the Supreme Court.

However, the PKB refused to recover his position, arguing that he had already been replaced.

Yenny said she hopes the PKB internal rift will not affect the party's performance in the 2009 general elections.

She said Muhaimin's deputy, Ali Masykur Moesa, would temporarily take charge of the party.

Yenny said she was not interested in replacing Muhaimin for the time being.

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