Muhaimin fights against dismissal

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 04/05/2008 12:42 PM  |  National

Conflict heightened Friday within the National Awakening Party (PKB) with Muhaimin Iskandar refusing his dismissal as chairman.

He said he would not resign from the party's top post until his five-year term ended in 2010.

Muhaimin was dismissed as PKB chairman by the party's central board last week when the matter was put to a vote. Twenty of the 30 executive board members voted for Muhaimin to resign.

The vote was at the request of PKB chief patron Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who is his uncle.

The uncle-versus-nephew conflict has divided the party.

A well-informed source hinted Muhaimin could also be fired from the party and recalled from the House of Representatives if he continued disputing the decision.

"He can decide whether he is still a party cadre or not," the source said when asked if the PKB had a plan to withdraw Muhaimin from the House, where he is a deputy speaker.

PKB deputy secretary Iksan Abdullah said Muhaimin was dismissed as party chief partly because he violated the party's standing orders when nominating Lukman Edy for a Cabinet post under the current government.

Lukman, a former PKB secretary-general, is the current state minister for the development of disadvantaged regions.

"Nominating a minister is a major task and the party's law-making body (led by Gus Dur) needs to be consulted. Muhaimin did not do so," he said.

Iksan said the party had warned Muhaimin about the violation twice.

He said the central board would hold a plenary meeting on Saturday night to discuss the case of Muhaimin, who is yet to respond to his dismissal request.

"If he keeps refusing to resign, he will be dismissed temporarily. That does not violate the party's internal rules," he said.

PKB lawmaker Nursyahbani Katjasungkana said the problem with Lukman had been resolved at a special party forum. "Even Gus Dur said the president had a right to make ministerial nominations," she said.

Nursyahbani, who led an investigation team formed by Muhaimin, said seven party members were found to have created the internal conflict.

On Thursday, the team identified four of the seven members by their initials as S, AS, MA and HT.

On Friday, Nursyahbani confirmed *AS' was Artalyta Suryani, a former PKB official who is being detained by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for allegedly bribing prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan with US$660,000.

Nursyahbani said her team was further investigating alleged violations of the party's rules by Artalyta and the six other members.

She said she has asked for Gus Dur's advice on the team.

"Gus Dur said he accepted the team as long as it had good intentions," said Nursyahbani.

Conflict has been part of the PKB since Gus Dur was ousted as the nation's fourth president in 2001, two years after the party's establishment.

A bitter split hit the party when Gus Dur fired Matori Abdul Djalil, who backed his ouster as the president.

A few years later, the PKB was again embroiled in a new dispute when it dismissed Alwi Shihab and Saefullah Yusuf, also Gus Dur's nephew, from the central board. (alf)

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