Meeting may not end PKB rift<\/p>\n
Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang<\/p>\n
The Central Java chapter of the National Awakening Party (PKB)
\nbegan a two-day extraordinary meeting in Kudus regency on Sunday,
\nbut may fail to reconcile the two factions embroiled in the
\nparty's leadership rift.<\/p>\n
The rift broke out after the PKB central board led by House of
\nRepresentatives deputy speaker Muhaimin Iskandar dismissed the
\nCentral Java's party chairman Hanif Muslich for refusing to
\nrecognize his leadership.<\/p>\n
Hanif instead insisted on recognizing the current social
\nwelfare minister Alwi Shihab as PKB's legitimate leader, despite
\nthe party electing Muhaimin as new chairman at a national
\ncongress in April 2005 held in Semarang, Central Java.<\/p>\n
The Muhaimin camp appointed Irman Suparno as caretaker of the
\nCentral Java PKB branch.<\/p>\n
However, Hanif rejected the outcomes of the extraordinary
\nmeeting, saying his camp did not send delegates to the forum.<\/p>\n
\"An extraordinary meeting of Central Java's PKB will be held
\nafter a national congress of the party (the faction led by Alwi)
\nin Surabaya in October,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, participants wanted the meeting used for
\nreconciliation between the warring factions in the party
\npolitically controlled by clerics of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the
\nnation's largest Muslim organization.<\/p>\n
\"I hope the meeting will be a reconcilatory forum because
\nthose (from both the Muhaimin and Alwi camps) are all in
\nattendance,\" cleric Syaiful Bahri, a delegate from Pekalongan,
\nwas quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
The ongoing extraordinary meeting in Kudus is expected to
\nappoint a new PKB provincial chairman on its final day on Monday.<\/p>\n
Muhammad Yusuf Chodlori, younger brother of Abdurrahman
\nChudlori who chairs the advisory board of PKB's Alwi faction in
\nCentral Java, appeared to be the strongest candidate in the
\nelection.<\/p>\n
The forum being held at Gryptha Hotel in Kudus is being
\nattended by representatives from 35 regency branches in Central
\nJava.<\/p>\n
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid, who is the PKB's chief
\npatron with the Muhaimin faction, could not attend on the advice
\nof his doctors, Muhaimin said in Kudus.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/meeting-may-not-end-pkb-rift-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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