Alwi elected chairman of Gus Dur's PKB

Asip A. Hasani and Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Alwi Shihab was confirmed as the new chairman of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's National Awakening Party (PKB) early on Sunday after his strongest competitor Saifullah Yusuf withdrew his candidacy from the chairmanship race during a party congress in Yogyakarta.

The four-day leadership congress also unanimously maintained Gus Dur, one of the most influential leaders in his PKB faction, as chairman of the party's board of patrons or Dewan Syuro (consultative council).

Apparently in return for his withdrawal from the race, Saifullah -- who is Gus Dur's nephew -- was made the PKB secretary general by a committee of seven party officials charged with forming the party's central executive board.

The small committee was chaired by Gus Dur with Alwi serving as its secretary and Saifullah, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Mudjab Mahali, Syafrin Romas and Ferry Tinggogoy as members.

Alwi had won more votes against Saifullah, securing 248 of the 511 votes in the first round of the election. Saifullah, who grabbed 229 votes, then abruptly withdrew his candidacy before proceeding to the second round of voting.

Other candidates for the top post in the nation's fourth largest party were Andi Jamaro who secured 14 votes and former research and technology minister Muhammad A.S. Hikam 10, while former tourism minister Marzuki Usman received only nine votes.

Due to the failure of the three candidates to obtain a minimum vote and Saifullah's withdrawal, the congress canceled the second round of voting and instead announced Alwi the winner.

"For the sake of PKB's prosperity and after considering the advice of ulemas (Muslim leaders) and kyai (Islamic teachers), I am not willing to continue my participation in this chairmanship race," Saifullah, who also chairs the Ansor youth wing of the country's largest Muslim group Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said when announcing his withdrawal.

His startling decision disappointed his supporters at the congress because just a few hours before the election started, Saifullah told reporters that he would have gone ahead with contesting the race despite Gus Dur's reported objection to his nephew's candidacy.

Former defense minister Mahfud MD, who presided over the voting session, confirmed Saifullah had just been summoned by some influential ulemas asking him to abandon the race.

However, he denied suspicion that Saifullah's decision was taken under pressure by Gus Dur and other ulemas. "Saifullah has made a wise decision, he knows well that PKB's prosperity is in the hands of the kyai."

Saifullah's appointment as the secretary general, a strategic post in the PKB, seemed to appease the aspirations of his supporters, mostly from outside of Java.

Syafrin Romas, a member of the committee of seven party officials that form the PKB executive board, said Saifullah's appointment to the post was at his own request as his supporters demanded the position for him.

"He deserves the post because he received the second highest number of votes," Syafrin told a press conference attended by Alwi, Mudjab Mahali, head of PKB's Yogyakarta provincial branch and the leader of the North Sulawesi provincial branch Ferry Tinggogoy.

Under the new PKB line-up, Mahfud was appointed as deputy chairman of the PKB executive board, while Hikam, Ali Masykur Musa, and Muhaimin Iskandar serve as members along with Lalu Misbah and Maria Ulfah.

In the party's Gus Dur-led board of patrons, Cholil Bisri, Idris Marzuki, and Irfan Zidni were named as deputy chiefs. The board comprises 17 members, including two non-Muslim figures -- Pedande Puni Atmaja and Hermawan F. Taslim.

After his victory, Alwi, who is a native of Sulawesi, pledged to empower the party's branches, especially those that are located outside of Java as part of efforts to stamp out the party's image as a "Javanese Party".

"I will also prove that our PKB is everybody's party in the country no matter what their religion, race, ethnicity, or region," he said.

Gus Dur said the victory in the ongoing PKB congress was not an individual one but it was a victory for democracy. "Every thing is running transparently and I am proud of it."

He said that in the future, the aspirations of the younger generation will be taken into account in the next leadership congress. It seemed that Gus Dur was referring to speculations that Saifullah will be groomed to lead the PKB for the next period beginning in 2007.

The PKB, founded by the 40 million-strong NU, split recently into two factions following the ouster of Gus Dur from the presidency by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in July last year.

The party's splinter group led by current Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil unanimously voted Matori to chair its version of the PKB in a separate congress held Jan. 14 to Jan. 16 in Jakarta.

Gus Dur fired Matori as PKB leader for supporting his dismissal from the presidency. However, Matori defiantly claims he is still the party's legitimate leader and challenged his rivals in Gus Dur's faction to sue him over the split.

The Central Board Lineup The National Awakening Party (PKB) The 2002-2007 Period

The Consultative Council (Dewan Syuro): Chairman: Abdurrahman Wahid; Co-chairman: Cholil Bisri; Co-chairman: Idris Marzuki; Co-chairman: Irfan Zidni; Secretary: Z. Arifin Junaidi.

The Executive Board (Dewan Tanfidz): Chairman: Alwi Shihab; Deputy Chairman: Mahfud MD; Co-chairman: AS Hikam; Co-chairman: Muhaimin Iskandar; Co-chairman: Lalu Misbah; Co-chairman: Maria Ulfah; Co-chairman: Ali Masykur Musa; Secretary General: Saifullah Yusuf; Treasurer: Munif Basuni;