Gus Dur wins unexpected support from Saifullah

The Jakarta Post, Semarang

In a bizarre move, National Awakening Party (PKB) leadership contender Saifullah Yusuf announced his support on Sunday for his bitter opponent Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's reelection as the party's powerful chief patron.

Saifullah's statement came as almost all the party's provincial chapters openly backed Gus Dur's bid.

The majority of the PKB's 33 provincial branches also accepted the central board's accountability report, despite its controversial decision to suspend Saifullah and Alwi Shihab respectively as the party's secretary-general and chairman last year.

Only East Java, the party's stronghold, abstained on the question of whether to accept or reject the report, while four chapters questioned the central board's suspension of Saifullah and Alwi.

Most provincial boards also publicly supported the nomination of Muhaimin Iskandar to the PKB tanfidziyah (executive) board's leadership as running mate for Gus Dur.

Saifullah secured support only from East Kalimantan, while the South Sulawesi delegation expressed its backing for him but stopped short of formalizing its stance during Sunday's plenary session.

Another candidate, Ali Masykur Moesa, a close ally of Gus Dur, received support from only two provinces: West Irian Jaya and Gorontalo. None of the provincial branches stated their backing for the other contender, Mahfud MD, the acting PKB chairman.

However, the latest developments do not mean that Gus Dur and his loyal nephew, Muhaimin, will secure the posts, as the elections to the tanfidziyah and syuro (consultative) boards involve 410 regency and 33 provincial branches.

The three-day congress is scheduled to end on Monday night after elections.

Outside the congress arena, a spokesman for the Saifullah camp, Chotibul Umam Wiranu, said Saifullah had yet to decide on whether to press ahead with his nomination or not.

"We will leave it to the party branches," Umam told a press conference at the Horison Hotel here on Sunday.

He said Saifullah would continue to support Gus Dur's bid for the chairmanship of the powerful syuro.

"Gus Dur is an asset and the savior of the PKB. Without him, the party would be at risk of breaking up," Umam quoted Saifullah as saying.

Saifullah, the State Minister for the Development of Disadvantaged Regions, is expected to appear for the first time at the congress on Monday, said his ally, Mahfud Candra Negara.

Asked about the nomination by a number of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) clerics of little-known cleric Ma'ruf Amin to challenge Gus Dur, Umam denied Saifullah's had a role in move.

"The political move should not be understood as an intention to nominate the pairing of Ma'ruf and Saifullah," Umam said.

Asked about the clerics' motives, Umam said they considered the PKB chief patron to have defied them. "He's no longer listened to by the ulemas," Umam said.

Saifullah and Alwi were suspended after the pair accepted ministerial posts in the Cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last October. The PKB has banned its executives from holding government posts to avoid conflicts of interest.

A clash marred the congress on Sunday, injuring Jhoni Soebagio and Abdullah Faqih, two rival PKB members from Banyuwangi in East Java.

Banyuwangi PKB leader Wahyudi said Jhoni had started the scuffle by seizing his ID card and attempting to throttle him. But Jhoni countered by branding Wahyudi an unregistered delegate and linking him to an attempt to murder Gus Dur.

Earlier in the day, Gus Dur accused Banyuwangi PKB executives of involvement in a conspiracy aimed at killing him, but refused to reveal names nor say when the attempt on his life took place.

Gus Dur said the election of Wahyudi as the local party leader violated the party's statutes. The former president also accused Faqih of involvement in a fuel adulteration business.