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Suryadharma's camp split over leadership
Infighting within the United Development Party (PPP) shows no signs of abating, as rival factions have failed to reach a consensus regarding the replacement of former religious minister Suryadharma Ali as party chairman
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nfighting within the United Development Party (PPP) shows no signs of abating, as rival factions have failed to reach a consensus regarding the replacement of former religious minister Suryadharma Ali as party chairman.
As of late Saturday, there was no sign that a national congress (muktamar) conducted by Suryadharma's camp would be able to select a new leader. The congress was scheduled to wrap up on Saturday. Three figures -- Djan Faridz, Ahmad Muqowwam and Ahmad Yani -- are vying for the party's top job, with Djan being touted as the strongest candidate.
Suryadharma claimed most of the party's regional branches wanted Djan to become party chairman, but a Saturday meeting saw many regional leaders voicing opposition to Djan's leadership.
'Last night [leaders of the meeting] wanted a consensus on Djan's election. If that's the case, then I'm dropping out of the race. This [muktamar] is even worse than the one in Surabaya,' Yani said on Saturday.
He was referring to the early-October muktamar held by the rival PPP faction in Surabaya, East Java, which led to the election of rival faction leader and party general-secretary Muhammad 'Romy' Romahurmuziy as chairman.
The latest muktamar, chaired by Suryadharma loyalist Fernita Darwis, was designed so that Djan would automatically be elected party chairman after hearing opinions from just nine representatives of the party's regional branches.
'But those representatives cannot be taken as a representation of all the provinces,' Yani said. 'Two-thirds of the party's regional branches support me. So I asked for a voting mechanism [instead of a consensus].'
An executive from the party's Southeast Sulawesi branch who requested anonymity claimed on Saturday he was shocked that meeting organizers wanted to appoint Djan without deliberation. 'The leader of the congress [Fernita] was in a rush to appoint Djan without granting opportunities for us to speak,' he said.
The internal rift began when Suryadharma decided to throw the party's support behind the candidacy of Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto and his Red-and-White Coalition, despite objections from many party members.
Romy later formed a splinter camp that resulted in his appointment as new party chairman during a muktamar held in Surabaya.
The legitimacy of the Surabaya congress and Romy's leadership has been questioned by internal bodies in the party.
However, newly inaugurated Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly issued a ministerial decree recognizing the changes in the structure of PPP's central board, including Romy's position as party chief.
On Thursday, Suryadharma's camp filed a lawsuit with the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) requesting a revocation of the decree.
Lawyer and PPP member Eggy Sudjana said on Saturday he was optimistic that Suryadharma's camp would win the lawsuit. 'The logic is the decree has to be revoked because the minister violated the law on political parties,' he said.
He said Yasonna had violated Article 32 and 33 of the 2011 Law on Political Parties, which stipulates that party conflicts must be settled internally through the party's council.
