Defiant PKB legislator dismissed: Muhaimin

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)