Matori fired from PKB for disloyalty<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The National Awakening Party (PKB), under the leadership of
\nAlwi Shihab, officially dismissed Matori Abdul Djalil on Thursday
\nfrom the party for disloyalty.<\/p>\n
Matori was fired after ignoring the third and last request to
\nclarify why he had defied the party's policy not to attend the
\nJuly People's Consultative Assembly Special Session that
\nimpeached president Abdurrahman Wahid, the PKB's chief patron.<\/p>\n
Matori was then chairman of the party and a deputy Assembly
\nSpeaker. He was unseated and replaced by Alwi but Matori insisted
\nhe remained the legitimate party chief.<\/p>\n
M. Tohadi, secretary of PKB's legal aid section, told The
\nJakarta Post on Thursday that Matori's dismissal was effective as
\nof Nov. 15 (Thursday), as the three-month deadline for him to
\nexplain his disloyalty had passed.<\/p>\n
The dismissal has dashed any hope of reconciliation between
\nthe Matori and Alwi camps.<\/p>\n
PKB, the country's fourth-largest political party, has been
\nriddled with internal bickering following the downfall of
\nAbdurrahman, the party's co-founder, in July.<\/p>\n
Matori, who had held the chairmanship of the party since it
\nwas established in 1998, supported Megawati Soekarnoputri to take
\nover the presidency during the July impeachment. In return she
\nappointed him as minister of defense.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman dismissed Matori from the chairmanship and
\nappointed Alwi, his confidante, and a former foreign minister in
\nhis administration, to lead the party.<\/p>\n
The defiant Matori further angered the Alwi camp by sticking
\nto his claim that he was the legitimate PKB chairman and by
\nholding a national meeting early this week.<\/p>\n
The national working conference gave him a free hand to fire
\nand appoint party leaders in PKB regional offices.<\/p>\n
Tohadi said he would file suit against Matori if he continued
\nto use the party's symbol or name for his political activities.<\/p>\n
"We have considered filing suit against Matori for holding a
\nnational working conference," Tohadi warned.<\/p>\n
Matori could not be contacted for comment.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/matori-fired-from-pkb-for-disloyalty-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }