Gus Dur rejects Syaifullah's bid

Gus Dur rejects Syaifullah's bid

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Ahead of the National Awakening Party (PKB) congress in Semarang
next week, its influential founder Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid
has refused to endorse the bid of State Minister for the
Development of Disadvantaged Regions Syaifullah Yusuf to contest
the party's top post.

Gus Dur said he approved the nomination of former defense
chief Mahfud M.D, House of Representatives Deputy Speaker
Muhaimin Iskandar and House legislator Ali Masykur Musa, and
considered PKB deputy chairman Muhammad A.S. Hikam and another
party executive Lalu Misbakh Hidayat dark horses in the race.

PKB deputy chairman Andi Muawiyah Ramly said on Thursday that
Indonesia's former president gave his blessing to the three
candidates during a plenary meeting late on Wednesday. All party
executives supported Gus Dur's decision, Ramly added.

"Gus Dur said he wished to improve the party's image and
change it into a political party for the youth," Ramly told a
press conference at the party's headquarters in Kalibata, East
Jakarta.

Syaifullah and Alwi Shihab were dismissed as the party's
secretary-general and chairman respectively after they took up
ministerial posts under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's
Cabinet last October, The party's standing orders bans its
executives from serving as government officials to a prevent
conflict of interests and abuse of power.

In the run-up to the congress, both Alwi and Syaifullah are
contesting the party decision in court.

Pressure has mounted for Gus Dur to let Syaifullah vie for the
PKB leadership.

Clerics Muhaiminan Gunardo and Ubaidillah Faqih of influential
Langitan Muslim boarding school visited Gus Dur earlier on
Thursday at his office at Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) headquarters to
ask the latter to help revoke the decision to dismiss Syaifullah
and Alwi.

Gus Dur, however, insisted that both Alwi and Syaifullah
agreed to leave their executive posts when the party's plenary
meeting asked them to do so.

"I'm not in a capacity to review such a dismissal alone, as
all party executives, including Pak Alwi and Syaifullah, were
involved in the decision back then. It was Pak Alwi who led the
meeting that resulted in his and Syaifullah's dismissal," Gus Dur
said.

Gus Dur challenged Syaifullah's move, while warning him not to
mix state affairs with the party's internal affairs.

"I'm looking forward to fighting him in court. One thing that
he must understand is that the state cannot interfere in a
party's internal affairs," Gus Dur said.

Syaifullah has just been reelected to head Anshor, the youth
wing of the 40 million-strong NU.

PKB, the country's third largest party in terms of popular
votes but the sixth biggest faction in the House of
Representatives, will hold a congress between April 16 and April
18 to elect a new leader.

The party deputy secretary-general Hermawi F. Taslim said Gus
Dur had won support from six provincial chapters for the post of
the chief of the party's lawmaking body.

President Susilo is expected to open the event, which will be
attended by around 3,000 delegates from across the country.