PKB faction leader grateful for dismissal

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 06/04/2009 12:50 PM  |  Presidential Election

Effendy Choirie, dismissed recently from his National Awakening Party (PKB) faction chairmanship at the House of Representatives, has chosen to look on the bright side rather than hold a grudge.

"I am very grateful for my dismissal from the faction chairmanship because I believe it has a lot to do with my agreement to ratify voter list mismanagement inquiries," he told a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.

"We agreed on the ratification, because the issue is a fundamental human right and vital to the practice of democracy. I had no political interests at all in agreeing to the ratification," he added.

The PKB faction took an opposing stance to that of the Democratic Party, regardless of the fact that both parties are allied in a political coalition supporting the candidacy of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the upcoming July presidential election.

"The inquiry right is a control mechanism used to judge the government's poor performance in providing a valid eligible voter list during the legislative elections. I believe such a right does not have any correlation at all with my political interests," Effendy said.

According to the losing political parties, around 40 million eligible voters were unable to vote during the April 9 legislative elections due to mismanagement. The elections ended with the victory of the Democratic Party giving the party the upper hand in determining political coalition agendas and contracts.

Effendy also said there were threats by the Democratic Party prior to his dismissal, but did not clarify whether such threats had anything to do with his dismissal.

"There were threats from the Democratic Party, as has been speculated in the media. However, I have no idea about that," he said.

"In my opinion, this coalition is not at all transparent. There is no equality or sharing of ideas," he added.

The PKB secretary general Lukman Edi said Effendy's dismissal was purely for "refreshment" and involved no outside interference. The PKB is preparing House Commission II deputy chairwoman, Ida Fauziah, to replace Effendy.(hdt)

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