Defiant PKB legislator dismissed: Muhaimin
JAKARTA (JP): The National Awakening Party (PKB) stripped Abdul Cholik Achmad of his position on Friday in the party's board of executives and its faction at the House of Representatives (DPR) for alleged insubordination.
The party's deputy secretary-general Muhaimin Iskandar told reporters that two other party members would face questioning over their alleged presence in a meeting organized by PKB's dismissed chairman Matori Abdul Djalil and Cholik at a hotel in Central Jakarta on Thursday.
The meeting, which was reportedly attended by nine people, including the faction's chairman Taufiqurrahman Saleh, resulted in a statement to accept the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and propose a rival party, to be called the PKB Reform.
"Abdul Cholik Achmad has been dismissed as the faction's secretary and the party's official in charge of education affairs for allegedly masterminding the meeting. But his party membership is not revoked," Muhaimin said.
He added that Agus Suphiat and Muchtar Nurjaya had been summoned to clarify their involvement in the secret meeting. The two party members have not responded to the summons.
Muhaimin said Taufiqurrahman and six other PKB legislators present in the secret meeting escaped disciplinary action because they did not sign the statement released after the gathering.
Also attending Friday's plenary meeting were PKB acting chairman Alwi Shihab, deputy chairpersons Arifin Junaidi and Khofifah Indar Parawansa and other top executives, including Chotibul Umam Wiranu and Ali Masykur Musa.
Muhaimin indicated that the party executives might reconsider a previous decision to suspend PKB factions in both the DPR and MPR during a congress to be held from Aug. 4 through Aug. 6. The place of the event remains undecided, he said.
Earlier in the day, Cholik, Agus and Mochtar told a media conference that they accepted the MPR Special Session as a constitutional and democratic event to solve the conflict between the President and the House.
"Despite our faction's temporary suspension, we continue to function as House legislators and Assembly members and we stay here to fight for the political aspirations of our constituents," Cholik said.
PKB supported then president Abdurrahman' decree to dissolve both the DPR and MPR, hold an expedited general election and dissolve the Golkar Party.
Agus said that more PKB legislators would continue to work when the House resumed its sitting on Aug. 17.
MPR speaker Amien Rais appealed on Thursday to PKB legislators to rejoin the legislative body as it will be restarting its deliberations on constitutional amendments.
In the Central Java town of Purwokerto, chairman of the PKB faction in the local legislature Musaddad Bikry Nur announced on Thursday his faction had boycotted as of Wednesday all legislative activities in response to the party's decision to suspend its factions in the DPR and MPR. (45/tso/rms)