Alwi elected chairman of Gus Dur's PKB

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;