Alwi seeking peace with rival camp in own congress
Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar/Jakarta
After losing a civil lawsuit against the National Awakening Party (PKB) central board, which dismissed him last year, chief welfare minister Alwi Shihab is offering reconciliation during a congress his camp will organize in September.
Alwi said on Saturday that he would invite both camps, including those from the side that opposes him, namely former president and the party's chief patron Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and current leader Muhaimin Iskandar, to the congress for the peace talks.
"We're going to invite everyone. We really welcome reconciliation," Alwi told reporters in a working visit here, adding that Gus Dur's camp had not taken the initiative for reconciliation.
Alwi insisted that the court battle did not hurt his personal relationship with Gus Dur and his loyalists, although he admitted there was no direct communication with his rivals.
Responding to Alwi's offer, Muhaimin said it was illegal for Alwi's camp to hold a congress under the PKB banner following the court's verdict.
"There is only one PKB in the eyes of the law. He has no right to organize the event. No one would want to come, anyway," Muhaimin, who is the deputy House of Representatives speaker, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Alwi's claim of support from senior clerics, Muhaimin said, was a bit misleading.
"There are millions of clerics out there. Support from, say, 20 clerics means nothing."
However, Muhaimin said that Alwi's camp is always welcome to rejoin PKB, but there would be no reconciliation if it took place during "an illegal conference."
Alwi said the congress was demanded by a group of senior clerics of the largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) known as the Langitan.
Alwi sued the PKB central board for dismissing him from the party's top post last October after he was appointed to the Cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as the coordinating minister for people's welfare.
Alwi claimed that the dismissal was illegal because the decision was made through a plenary meeting of the PKB central board instead of a national meeting.
Muhaimin, however, said that Alwi was removed for violating the party's policy prohibiting its executives from serving government posts.
The South Jakarta District Court finally ruled on Aug. 11 that Alwi's dismissal as the PKB leader was legitimate.
The court also ordered Alwi to stop acting like the legitimate PKB leader and barred Alwi from donning PKB accessories while carrying out his political activities.
Alwi said that the court's verdict was neither final nor legally binding, and thus would not affect the planned congress.
"I'm certain that I will win the appeal with the Supreme Court," he said.
Another PKB legislator and former state minister of women's empowerment, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, also believed that Alwi would win the appeal.
"We are using the right to seek the truth," said the leader of NU women's organization after officiating on the organization's conference in Bali.
Khofifah said that despite the good relationships she maintained with all PKB members, it was necessary for idealism to prevail.
"I'm not afraid of the threat of being removed (from the House). I still want to maintain my idealism."