T

he Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) pressed the House of Representatives on Sunday to inaugurate Ledia Hanifa Amaliah as a new House deputy speaker, with the party appointing her after dismissing Fahri Hamzah.

The party apparently stripped Fahri of his membership and his House post for his rebellious streak, which has often veered from the party line.

PKS chairman Sohibul Iman said House leaders should inaugurate Ledia, a senior lawmaker from the party, to replace Fahri regardless of a lawsuit that the latter had filed against the party’s decision.

“They don’t need to wait for the legal process because choosing members for the House leadership board is the authority of every party,” Sohibul said.

However, he acknowledged that they should wait for legal steps to decide whether to withdraw Fahri from the House.

The Islamic-based political party, through its arbitration council, removed Fahri’s PKS membership in March based on the recommendations of the party’s organizational disciplinary upholding body (BPDO).

The party’s central leadership board (DPTP) conveyed the decision to the PKS central executive board (DPP) to follow up, in line with the party’s rules of association and internal rules of association.

In an official statement, the party argued that Fahri had caused too much damage with his controversial statements, including calling fellow House members “stupid”, which the House’s ethics council regarded as a minor violation of the lawmakers’ code of ethics.

Fahri was also regarded as having failed to toe the party line when he backed seven controversial construction projects that had been rejected by the leadership of the PKS.

Analysts previously said the move also aimed to end a splinter faction in the party led by Anis Matta, who served as party chairman until August 2015, before Sohibul took over the leadership.

Considering Fahri no longer a PKS member, the executive board then appointed Ledia to replace him.

Fahri, who insisted on remaining in his post and considered his dismissal unfair, filed a lawsuit with the South Jakarta District Court against the DPP decision.

In his lawsuit, Fahri did not mention the names of any party figures he deemed personally responsible.

Sohibul previously sent a letter to House Speaker Ade Komarudin regarding Fahri’s dismissal and his recommendation of Ledia as the new deputy speaker, but Ade has yet to follow up.

The Golkar Party politician argued that Fahri was a good politician with a good sense of discipline. He said on Friday that he would hold a meeting on Monday with other deputy speakers regarding Fahri.

House Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon of the Gerindra Party said the House could not fire Fahri from his post without strong reasons.

Fadli argued that one could not simply be dismissed from his or her membership as a lawmaker if they had not been proven to have violated the law or ethical codes.

“Moreover, Fahri is undertaking legal steps. We can’t replace a person who is still undergoing a legal process to fight for his rights. We should wait for the legal process,” Fadli said.

Fahri is known for his criticism of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during the former president’s term. However, after his PKS dismissal, Fahri approached the Democratic Party, which is chaired by Yudhoyono.

He even praised the former president and described him as a founder of democracy. He has scheduled to meet with Yudhoyono, but claimed it would be only a “friendly visit”.

“I used to criticize him a lot, because he was the president at that time. It’s our duty to criticize the government. But now he’s not. And the meeting will just be a normal friendly visit,” he said.