Alwi Shihab a strong candidate for PKB chief

Alwi Shihab a strong candidate for PKB chief

Asip A. Hasani and Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Acting chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) Alwi
Shihab is likely to get elected to the party's top post after the
chief of the party's board of patrons, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur"
Wahid, asked Saifullah Yusuf, Alwi's only serious rival, to
withdraw his candidacy.

"Gus Dur has told Saifullah to be patient and not to take part
in the election of the chairman," secretary of PKB's Board of
Patrons Arifin Junaidi said on Saturday.

"Some elements in PKB and Nahdlatul Ulama have expressed
objections to Saifullah's candidacy," Arifin told journalists,
quoting Abdurrahman.

Being the founder of PKB and grandson of Hasyim Ashari, the
founder of Nahdlatul Ulama, Abdurrahman wields strong influence
in the party.

Arifin said Saifullah, Abdurrahman's nephew, should pave the
way for Alwi to grab the party chairmanship.

Set up in July 1999 with majority support from Nahdlatul
Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organization with 40 million
members, PKB split into two rival groups in July after a faction
led by Matori Abdul Djalid attended the extraordinary meeting of
the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), which fired
Abdurrahman, a founder of PKB.

Matori's PKB just finished holding its congress in Jakarta,
while its rival, namely Alwi's PKB, ended its congress on
Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, according to Arifin, the meeting between
Abdurrahman and Saifullah took place on Friday morning at an
undisclosed hotel here. However, Saifullah, was not available for
comment.

Arifin said that Abdurrahman preferred Saifullah to hold the
second highest position in the party's central executive board.

Saifullah had apparently no choice but to heed his uncle's
order to withdraw from the party's chairmanship election.

Should Saifullah insist on going for the party chairmanship,
it may disrupt party unity.

"Gus Dur believes that Saifullah loves his party, a party that
has encouraged him to resign from PDI-Perjuangan," he said.

Saifullah's candidacy has sparked controversy among PKB's
leaders, because he is considered a newcomer to the party.

Saifullah, a former chairman of NU's youth wing, GP Anshor,
has just resigned from PDI-Perjuangan, on the grounds that "PKB
is my true home."

His return to the PKB has drawn mixed response among congress
participants. Several chapters have thrown their weight behind
Alwi, while Saifullah has got strong support from GP Anshor, an
organization he formerly chaired.

Other strong candidates for the party's top post are Marzuki
Usman, Mahfud MD, Ali Masykur Musa and Muhammad AS Hikam.

Meanwhile, Saifullah has passed an obstacle in his pursuit to
be elected party chairman. A plenary meeting, which was held last
night, agreed to install Saifullah as an honorary member of the
party.

This position, which was previously obtained by other
newcomers to the party, such as AS Hikam and Mahfud MD, has
granted him the right to race for the party's chairmanship.

An internal rule in the party rules that a member is allowed
to race for the party chairmanship if they have been a member of
the party for at least six months.