Abdurrahman to officially join PKB: Muhaimin<\/p>\n
By Ainur R. Sophiaan and Ahmad Junaidi<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid will officially
\njoin the National Awakening Party (PKB) which he founded two
\nyears ago, the party's secretary-general Muhaimin Iskandar said
\non Monday.<\/p>\n
\"I believe all congress participants will approve Gus Dur's
\nelection as the chief of the party's law-making body,\" Muhaimin,
\nwho is deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, said,
\nreferring to the President by his nickname.<\/p>\n
He said Abdurrahman would replace Makruf Amin as the chairman
\nof an influential body, locally called Dewan Syuro, if he was
\nappointed on Thursday.<\/p>\n
There has been a proposal to grant the body the power to elect
\nthe party's chief, but only to meet strong opposition from the
\nfloor.<\/p>\n
Muhaimin confirmed that Abdurrahman would attend the election
\nof chairman as a congress participant, saying that the President
\nwould not interfere with the process of the election.<\/p>\n
\"People know that Gus Dur is the party's founder. So it's
\nnormal that he visits the congress,\" Muhaimin said in the
\ncongress arena of the Haj dormitory here.<\/p>\n
He said the President's visit aimed to show his full attention
\nto the party and his willingness to develop it.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman opened the congress on Sunday. It was not
\nmentioned on the congress agenda that Abdurrahman would \"watch\"
\nthe election process of the party's chairman.<\/p>\n
Although the President is known as the party's founder,
\nAbdurrahman did not officially join or become a party member.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman was a representative of the interest group at the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly during the General Session in
\nOctober last year.<\/p>\n
Many analysts believe that the appointment of Abdurrahman is
\nin line with the reelection of Vice President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri as the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).<\/p>\n
Assembly Speaker Amien Rais was also reelected as chairman of
\nthe National Mandate Party (PAN), and House Speaker Akbar
\nTandjung is certain to remain chairman of the Golkar Party after
\nthe 2004 general election.<\/p>\n
If Abdurrahman is elected chairman of PKB's legislative body,
\nit would be seen by many as a repeat of Golkar's past practice.<\/p>\n
Former president Soeharto chaired Golkar's supervisory body
\nbefore his forced resignation in May 1998.<\/p>\n
As chairman of the supervisory body, Soeharto had authority to
\nannul the election of the party's chairman.<\/p>\n
According to PKB's planned internal regulation, the chairman
\nof the legislative body has authority to appoint the party's
\nchairman.<\/p>\n
Several executives of PKB's provincial chapters have rejected
\nthe planned regulation, saying that it is not democratic.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, PKB's outgoing chairman Matori Abdul Djalil
\nexpressed readiness to be reelected as the party's chairman,
\nclaiming that he was supported by several provincial chapters,
\nincluding West Java, Central Java and chapters from Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
\"They (the chapters) have visited me, asking if I was ready to
\nbe reelected,\" Matori, who is also the Assembly's deputy speaker,
\nsaid after reading the party's accountability report on Monday.<\/p>\n
East Java chapter chairman Choirul Anam earlier rejected the
\nreelection of Matori, nominating PKB's outgoing deputy chairman
\nand Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab instead.<\/p>\n
In his accountability speech, Matori apologized to party
\nsupporters for failing to reach its target of 40 percent of the
\npopular vote during last year's general election.<\/p>\n
He said the party came in fourth after PDI Perjuangan, Golkar
\nand the United Development Party (PPP) after securing 12 percent
\nof the vote and 51 legislative seats.<\/p>",
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