Alwi elected chairman of Gus Dur's PKB<\/p>\n
Asip A. Hasani and Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Alwi Shihab was confirmed as the new chairman of former president
\nAbdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid's National Awakening Party (PKB)
\nearly on Sunday after his strongest competitor Saifullah Yusuf
\nwithdrew his candidacy from the chairmanship race during a party
\ncongress in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
The four-day leadership congress also unanimously maintained
\nGus Dur, one of the most influential leaders in his PKB faction,
\nas chairman of the party's board of patrons or Dewan Syuro
\n(consultative council).<\/p>\n
Apparently in return for his withdrawal from the race,
\nSaifullah -- who is Gus Dur's nephew -- was made the PKB
\nsecretary general by a committee of seven party officials
\ncharged with forming the party's central executive board.<\/p>\n
The small committee was chaired by Gus Dur with Alwi serving
\nas its secretary and Saifullah, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Mudjab
\nMahali, Syafrin Romas and Ferry Tinggogoy as members.<\/p>\n
Alwi had won more votes against Saifullah, securing 248 of the
\n511 votes in the first round of the election. Saifullah, who
\ngrabbed 229 votes, then abruptly withdrew his candidacy before
\nproceeding to the second round of voting.<\/p>\n
Other candidates for the top post in the nation's fourth
\nlargest party were Andi Jamaro who secured 14 votes and former
\nresearch and technology minister Muhammad A.S. Hikam 10, while
\nformer tourism minister Marzuki Usman received only nine votes.<\/p>\n
Due to the failure of the three candidates to obtain a minimum
\nvote and Saifullah's withdrawal, the congress canceled the second
\nround of voting and instead announced Alwi the winner.<\/p>\n
\"For the sake of PKB's prosperity and after considering the
\nadvice of ulemas (Muslim leaders) and kyai (Islamic teachers), I
\nam not willing to continue my participation in this chairmanship
\nrace,\" Saifullah, who also chairs the Ansor youth wing of the
\ncountry's largest Muslim group Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said when
\nannouncing his withdrawal.<\/p>\n
His startling decision disappointed his supporters at the
\ncongress because just a few hours before the election started,
\nSaifullah told reporters that he would have gone ahead with
\ncontesting the race despite Gus Dur's reported objection to his
\nnephew's candidacy.<\/p>\n
Former defense minister Mahfud MD, who presided over the
\nvoting session, confirmed Saifullah had just been summoned by
\nsome influential ulemas asking him to abandon the race.<\/p>\n
However, he denied suspicion that Saifullah's decision was
\ntaken under pressure by Gus Dur and other ulemas. \"Saifullah has
\nmade a wise decision, he knows well that PKB's prosperity is in
\nthe hands of the kyai.\"<\/p>\n
Saifullah's appointment as the secretary general, a strategic
\npost in the PKB, seemed to appease the aspirations of his
\nsupporters, mostly from outside of Java.<\/p>\n
Syafrin Romas, a member of the committee of seven party
\nofficials that form the PKB executive board, said Saifullah's
\nappointment to the post was at his own request as his supporters
\ndemanded the position for him.<\/p>\n
\"He deserves the post because he received the second highest
\nnumber of votes,\" Syafrin told a press conference attended by
\nAlwi, Mudjab Mahali, head of PKB's Yogyakarta provincial branch
\nand the leader of the North Sulawesi provincial branch Ferry
\nTinggogoy.<\/p>\n
Under the new PKB line-up, Mahfud was appointed as deputy
\nchairman of the PKB executive board, while Hikam, Ali Masykur
\nMusa, and Muhaimin Iskandar serve as members along with Lalu
\nMisbah and Maria Ulfah.<\/p>\n
In the party's Gus Dur-led board of patrons, Cholil Bisri,
\nIdris Marzuki, and Irfan Zidni were named as deputy chiefs. The
\nboard comprises 17 members, including two non-Muslim figures --
\nPedande Puni Atmaja and Hermawan F. Taslim.<\/p>\n
After his victory, Alwi, who is a native of Sulawesi, pledged
\nto empower the party's branches, especially those that are
\nlocated outside of Java as part of efforts to stamp out the
\nparty's image as a \"Javanese Party\".<\/p>\n
\"I will also prove that our PKB is everybody's party in the
\ncountry no matter what their religion, race, ethnicity, or
\nregion,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur said the victory in the ongoing PKB congress was not
\nan individual one but it was a victory for democracy. \"Every
\nthing is running transparently and I am proud of it.\"<\/p>\n
He said that in the future, the aspirations of the younger
\ngeneration will be taken into account in the next leadership
\ncongress. It seemed that Gus Dur was referring to speculations
\nthat Saifullah will be groomed to lead the PKB for the next
\nperiod beginning in 2007.<\/p>\n
The PKB, founded by the 40 million-strong NU, split recently
\ninto two factions following the ouster of Gus Dur from the
\npresidency by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in July
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
The party's splinter group led by current Minister of Defense
\nMatori Abdul Djalil unanimously voted Matori to chair its version
\nof the PKB in a separate congress held Jan. 14 to Jan. 16 in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur fired Matori as PKB leader for supporting his
\ndismissal from the presidency. However, Matori defiantly claims
\nhe is still the party's legitimate leader and challenged his
\nrivals in Gus Dur's faction to sue him over the split.<\/p>\n
The Central Board Lineup The National Awakening Party (PKB)
\nThe 2002-2007 Period<\/p>\n
The Consultative Council (Dewan Syuro):
\nChairman: Abdurrahman Wahid;
\nCo-chairman: Cholil Bisri;
\nCo-chairman: Idris Marzuki;
\nCo-chairman: Irfan Zidni;
\nSecretary: Z. Arifin Junaidi.<\/p>\n
The Executive Board (Dewan Tanfidz):
\nChairman: Alwi Shihab;
\nDeputy Chairman: Mahfud MD;
\nCo-chairman: AS Hikam;
\nCo-chairman: Muhaimin Iskandar;
\nCo-chairman: Lalu Misbah;
\nCo-chairman: Maria Ulfah;
\nCo-chairman: Ali Masykur Musa;
\nSecretary General: Saifullah Yusuf;
\nTreasurer: Munif Basuni;<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/alwi-elected-chairman-of-gus-durs-pkb-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}