Cabinet shakeup may reunite rift-riddled PKB

Cabinet shakeup may reunite rift-riddled PKB

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The limited Cabinet shakeup announced by President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono on Monday night appears to be a blessing in disguise
for the fractured National Awakening Party (PKB).

The reshuffle, which included two PKB figures from the two
rival factions, is expected to help end the bitter conflict
within the party founded by former president Abdurrahman "Gus
Dur" Wahid.

The two ministers from PKB are Gus Dur's defiant nephew,
Saifullah Yusuf, and Erman Suparno. They were both nominated for
their current posts by the Gus Dur camp, which is led by his
loyalist nephew Muhaimin Iskandar.

Its splinter faction is backed by Alwi Shihab who was axed
from Susilo's Cabinet, with his position as the chief welfare
minister being taken over by former chief economics minister
Aburizal Bakrie, a senior member of the Golkar Party.

Erman is meanwhile the treasurer of Muhaimin's PKB faction and
was appointed as the new manpower and transmigration minister,
replacing Fahmi Idris.

Muhaimin, also a House of Representatives deputy speaker,
confirmed that his faction had proposed to Susilo that Saifullah
be retained in the Cabinet and Erman Suparno be named a new
Cabinet member.

"We forget the conflict and we hope all of this will be part
of efforts toward togetherness," Muhaimin was quoted by Antara as
saying in response to Saifullah being maintained as the state
minister for the development of disadvantaged regions. Saifullah
is also a key leader of Alwi's PKB camp.

A source close to the PKB said Saifullah had pledged to
reunite with the Muhaimin faction provided that the party
supported his bid to stay in the Cabinet.

"Saifullah has signed a deal with Muhaimin to recognize the
latter's leadership of the PKB," the source said, adding that
Alwi had done the same, although he had to leave the Cabinet to
pave the way for Aburizal to occupy his ministerial post.

In reshuffling the Cabinet, analysts said one of the major
sticking points faced by Susilo concerned what to do with
Aburizal, who was strongly backed by Vice President Jusuf Kalla
who also leads Golkar.

A source close to the reshuffle plan said Alwi agreed to leave
the Cabinet as Kalla promised to help facilitate reconciliations
among the PKB rival factions.

When announcing the Cabinet shakeup, Susilo publicly said he
would assign Alwi, a former foreign minister in the
administration of Gus Dur, as his special envoy for Middle East
cooperation.

Choirul Anam, who recently replaced Alwi as his PKB faction
leader, said on Tuesday he could understand the removal of Alwi
from the Cabinet.

"I am sure that in reshuffling the Cabinet, the President has
acted wisely in line with his prerogative," Anam told Antara in
Surabaya, East Java.

"Once again I say that there is no problem with the
replacement of Alwi. Nor do I see any particular motive behind
his removal from the Cabinet."

The PKB has been split into two factions since a plenary
meeting of the party decided to dismiss Alwi and Saifullah as its
leader and secretary-general respectively.

The dismissals followed moves in October last year by the two
former loyalists of Gus Dur to join the United Indonesia Cabinet
of Susilo, whose presidential candidacy was not supported by the
PKB.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that Alwi's dismissal was
invalid. However, the rival camp said the verdict did not change
Muhaimin's PKB leadership since the court did not allow Alwi to
use the party's symbols and flag.