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Supreme Court rules in favor of PKS over dismissal row
With the ruling in the bag, the PKS is no longer obliged to pay compensation to the tune of Rp 30 billion (US$2.129 million), as demanded in an appeal filed by Fahri.
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Fahri Hamzah, an erstwhile staunch critic of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration, answers questions from the press at the State Palace complex in Jakarta on Aug. 18, after a ceremony bestowing him a medal of honor from the government. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak)
T
he Supreme Court has accepted a case review filed by the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) over its dealings with former party stalwart Fahri Hamzah, who sued over his dismissal.
With the ruling in the bag, the PKS is no longer obliged to pay compensation to the tune of Rp 30 billion (US$2.129 million), as demanded in an appeal filed by Fahri.
“Yes, it is true,” Supreme Court spokesman Andi Samsan Nganro said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.
The panel of judges reviewing the case – I Gusti Agung Sumanantha, Ibrahim and Sunarto – came to a verdict on Nov. 25.
Fahri and his former party were embroiled in a legal row that began in 2016, when on April 4, the party leadership revoked the firebrand politician’s membership.
Then-PKS president Sohibul Iman suggested at the time that Fahri had committed a number of ethical violations and had even gone against the party’s decisions. He was a deputy House of Representatives speaker at the time of his ousting.
Fahri, alongside other former members of the PKS who were excluded from positions of authority by the current leadership, went on to found the Gelora Party.
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Responding to his dismissal, Fahri filed a lawsuit at the South Jakarta District Court, seeking Rp 1.6 million in material compensation and more than Rp 500 billion in immaterial compensation from the party.
The district court accepted Fahri’s lawsuit, prompting the PKS to file an appeal at the Jakarta High Court, which was rejected. This prompted the PKS to challenge the cassation (appeal) ruling to the Supreme Court on June 28, 2018.
The Supreme Court, at the time headed by judge Maria Anna Samiyati, rejected the party’s appeal and ordered the PKS to rescind Fahri’s dismissal and compensate him to the tune of Rp 30 billion.
Dissatisfied by the ruling, the head of the party’s disciplinary body (BPDO), Abdul Muiz Saadih, filed a case review to the Supreme Court on behalf of the PKS executive board (DPP), which was then accepted.
Separately, Fahri’s lawyer, Mujahid Latief, insisted that the verdict still upheld the argument that the PKS was wrong to have dismissed Fahri as a party cadre.
Mujahid said the verdict only rescinded the PKS’ responsibility to pay immaterial compensation worth Rp 30 billion.
“According to our readings from the media, the verdict confirmed the previous verdicts that PKS is guilty and has broken the law,” he said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.
Fahri’s legal team has yet to receive a copy of the case review verdict and, therefore, could not decide on the next step, Mujahid said. (ami)
