PKB splinter group elects Choirul Anam as chairman<\/p>\n
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
Saturday's Bali bombs meant Alwi Shihab's National Awakening
\nParty (PKB) splinter national congress went on through the night,
\nwith Choirul Anam winning the faction's top executive job.<\/p>\n
Following the news of the blasts, Alwi, who is the
\nCoordinating Minister for People's Welfare, requested the
\ncongressional committee speed up the meeting because he and
\nfaction secretary-general Saifullah Yusuf, who is State Minister
\nfor the Development of Disadvantaged Regions, wanted to go to
\nBali.<\/p>\n
\"The President (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) did not instruct me
\nto go to Bali but I'll go since it's related to my job,\" Alwi
\nsaid on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The congress at the Sukolilo Haj Dormitory was scheduled to
\nfinish on Sunday night. Instead of adjourning for the evening it
\ncontinued until 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, electing Choirul, who won
\n394 out of 495 votes against Saifullah Yusuf, who was earlier
\ntipped as the strongest candidate for the post.<\/p>\n
Choirul was later congratulated by senior clerics, including
\nAbdullah Faqih from the Langitan Islamic boarding school in Tuban
\nand Achmad Mas Subadar from Raoudhlatul Ulum Besuk Islamic
\nboarding school in Pasuruan.<\/p>\n
The splinter grouping of PKB members refuses to recognize the
\nresults of the PKB's National Congress in Semarang in April,
\nwhich elected Muhaimin the leader and re-elected Abdurrahman \"Gus
\nDur\" Wahid as the chief patron.<\/p>\n
\"I won because the clerics want Saifullah to concentrate on
\nthe Ansor Youth Movement as Nahdlatul Ulama's autonomy body,\"
\nsaid Choirul, who will hold in the post for the 2005-2009 office
\nterm.<\/p>\n
Protest marked the congress' opening day on Saturday when
\ndozens of people who said they were supporters of the official
\nPKB leader Muhaimin Iskandar came to the venue, threatening to
\npull down the party's symbols and banners.<\/p>\n
They said the faction was not entitled to display party
\nsymbols because a recent court verdict recognized the faction
\nunder Muhaimin. PKB cofounder and chief patron Gus Dur was
\ninvited to the congress, but did not turn up.<\/p>\n
Alwi and Saifullah were dismissed by PKB last year as the
\nparty's chairman and secretary general after they joined Susilo's
\nCabinet. The party bans high-ranking party officials from holding
\njobs in government because of possible conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n
In his speech following his election, Choirul said he would
\ncontinue the legal process to solve the internal conflict within
\nthe party. He denied his faction would form a new party after
\nlosing the court battle against Muhaimin.<\/p>\n
In the congress, Abdurrahman Chudlori was elected as the
\nfaction's chief patron after gaining 456 out of 492 votes. He
\nstood against several candidates, including Alwi Shihab and Gus
\nDur.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pkb-splinter-group-elects-choirul-anam-as-chairman-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}