Internal PPP Turmoil Escalates as Two NTB DPRD Members Exchange Dismissal Notices

Internal tensions within the Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP) in Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) have intensified as two PPP members serving in the NTB DPRD, Muzhir and Mohammad Akri, exchanged dismissal notices for each other’s positions. PPP NTB Provincial Chair Muzhir first sent a letter dismissing Mohammad Akri from his position as PPP faction chair in the NTB DPRD. The letter was read out by NTB DPRD Secretary Hendra Saputra during a plenary session on Monday, 25 May 2026. The letter restructured the PPP faction leadership, with Akri moving from chairman to member. Hendra then read another letter temporarily removing Muzhir from his role as deputy chair of the NTB DPRD. Hendra, while reading Muzhir’s letter, stated: ‘The PPP NTB faction leadership structure now has Muhammad Akri as a member after previously serving as faction chair. Muzhir has moved from member to faction chair; Sitti Ari from member to faction secretary; Muhammad Ruslan remains deputy chair; Rohaiman remains a member; Marga Harun has shifted from faction secretary to member; and Rusli Mangawari remains a member.’ Shortly after, Hendra read a letter from Akri’s faction (No. 05/F.PPP/DPRD/NTB/V/2026) suspending Muzhir from his position as deputy chair of the NTB DPRD for the 2024-2029 term. Akri responded calmly to his dismissal as PPP faction chair. He also addressed the suspension letter against Muzhir as deputy DPRD chair, sent alongside PPP faction secretary Marga Harun. Akri said the suspension of Muzhir relates to the current status of PPP NTB’s leadership. He argued that Muzhir’s decree dismissing him as PPP NTB regional secretary was not properly handled by both the General Chair and Secretary General. ‘Only the General Chair, Mardiono, signed it, not Secretary General Taj Yasin. We need to resolve this internally,’ Akri stated when questioned about the suspension request for Muzhir on Monday, 25 May 2026. Akri insisted the faction’s letter to the NTB DPRD leadership to suspend Muzhir was a countermeasure against the unilateral replacement of the PPP faction chair position. ‘I want the party to avoid further internal escalation. This is about balance. The faction is a parliamentary body (AKD),’ he stressed. As an AKD, Akri said the faction has the authority to suspend DPRD leaders if they violate PPP NTB’s bylaws. ‘The faction is an extension of the party. Legally and regulatorily, Secretary General Taj Yasin has the authority to nullify decrees issued by the PPP NTB Provincial Board under Muzhir,’ he said. Akri noted that in the PPP Provincial Board decree signed by Muzhir, Secretary General Taj Yasin never signed the document dismissing him as regional secretary and replacing him with Sitti Ari. ‘So the central party (DPP) has no signature from the Secretary General. Please verify if Muzhir’s decree is valid. Therefore, the issued decree and its derivatives are legally void,’ he stated. Akri said the two letters read out by the NTB DPRD secretary—his dismissal as PPP faction chair and Muzhir’s suspension from DPRD leadership—should not be made public. ‘This is merely an internal matter not yet discussed collectively. I think the leadership will decide on the submitted letters. As for the continuation, I won’t comment,’ he added. Akri also urged NTB DPRD Chair Baiq Isvie Rupaeda to handle the incoming letters wisely. ‘These are notification letters to the DPRD chair regarding the current party status quo. No positions have been legally resolved yet. The bylaws and leadership matters were already heard today,’ he said. Akri stressed the dismissal dispute was purely a communication issue between his faction and Muzhir. ‘Muzhir dismissed me, but as faction chair and secretary, we also have the right to suspend our own leaders. DPRD leaders are AKD,’ he said. He maintained that suspending DPRD leaders is legally valid under clear grounds and the 2014 MD3 Law No. 17. Previously, PPP NTB Provincial Chair Muzhir denied reports of his and regional secretary Siti Ari’s dismissal via a notice signed by PPP Secretary General Taj Yasin Maimoen. Muzhir explained that the PPP NTB Provincial Board under his leadership and Siti Ari remains organisationally valid as it adheres to government-recognised decrees and the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. ‘I want to clarify. There is no such thing as dismissal. I do not consider it a valid organisational decree as it lacks the necessary formal elements,’ Muzhir stated firmly at the PPP NTB Provincial Office on Thursday afternoon, 21 May 2026. As NTB DPRD deputy chair, he stressed that strategic party decisions cannot be made solely by the Secretary General. He said the official national PPP leadership falls under General Chair Mardiono. ‘All organisational policies must adhere to the party’s bylaws and national regulations. Therefore, Secretary General Taj Yasin has no prerogative powers within the organisation,’ he stressed. Muzhir also argued that the Secretary General lacks sole authority to determine strategic organisational policies. ‘The Secretary General’s role is administrative and supportive. Therefore, a letter signed only by the Secretary General without the General Chair’s signature does not meet the requirements for a valid organisational decree,’ he said.