Cholil Bisri installation signals declining support for Matari
Cholil Bisri installation signals declining support for Matari
Annastashya Emmanuelle and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The installment of Cholil Bisri on Wednesday as deputy speaker of
the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) highlights the waning of
political support for influential Muslim politician Matori Abdul
Djalil who is also the defense minister.
The lack of support for Matori was already apparent last week
when 60-year-old Cholil was handpicked by MPR leaders as a
candidate for deputy speaker.
A respected Muslim cleric and legislator coming from Matori's
rival political party bearing the same name of National Awakening
Party (PKB), Cholil is in the same camp as Gus Dur, as former
president Abdurrahman Wahid is often called.
The installment of one of the seven MPR deputies came about
despite a legal battle between the opposing PKB camps and
appeared to be a strong blow for Matori, a former Assembly deputy
speaker himself.
On the other hand the installment may signify a move by
Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI Perjuangan) to establish a firm footing among the grassroots
for the 2004 elections.
Briefing the press after the ceremony, MPR speaker Amien Rais
said MPR leaders saw to it that the demand of 47 members of
Alwi's PKB was fulfilled.
He reiterated that the Assembly's decision to endorse Cholil's
nomination was based on the fact that the majority of PKB
legislators lent support to Cholil rather than to Syarif Usman
Yahya, a candidate from Matori's PKB.
Matori's aide Abdul Khalik Ahmad lamented the hasty decision
of the Assembly leaders, saying that the decision should have
been made after the legal battle between the two warring factions
ended.
Matori earned Gus Dur's ire last July when he attended an MPR
special session to oust Gus Dur. He was dismissed as PKB leader
and Gus Dur put former foreign minister Alwi Shihab in his stead.
In retaliation Matori set up a splinter PKB party in January,
refusing to recognize Alwi's leadership. His party's faction has
only four members in the MPR. It requires a minimum of 10 members
to form a faction.
Gus Dur, who founded PKB in 1998, was a long time chairman of
Nahdlatul Ulama, the spiritual counterpart of the party, which
claims more than 40 million members. An alliance between PKB and
PDI Perjuangan who enjoys the grassroots' nationalists support
would therefore be formidable.
Husband of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Taufik Kiemas
visited Gus Dur on Tuesday in a move widely seen as an effort to
mend ties with the cleric.
Political observers said it would take more than just
installing Cholil and a courtesy visit to Gus Dur -- where Taufik
bowed to kiss Wahid's hand as a gesture of respect -- to gain
PKB's support.
The visit occurred as a number of Islamic political parties
have been holding regular meetings dubbed the Muslim caucus in
the last few months.
Cholil, who comes from Alwi Shihab's PKB, garnered 47 out of
49 votes at the Assembly to win the post which has been left
vacant for the past eight months.
"It's clear to PDI Perjuangan that most Muslim clerics in
Nahdlatul Ulama and PKB support Alwi's PKB rather than Matori's,
and it would be more useful to have their support," said Arbi
Sanit, a political observer from the University of Indonesia, who
is known as a sympathizer of Gus Dur.
PDI Perjuangan, however, brushed off the speculation, saying
that their party merely agrees with the decision of the People's
Consultative Assembly.
"Our guide is the aspirations of the House, besides the
(deputy speaker) post needs to be filled in immediately," PDI
Perjuangan deputy chairman Roy B. Janis told The Jakarta Post.