Matori seeks legal measure over dispute
Aan Suryana and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Matori Abdul Djalil, chairman of one of the two opposing camps within the National Awakening Party (PKB), challenged his political foe Alwi Shihab on Tuesday to bring the party's dispute to court if reconciliation could not take place.
Matori, who got strong support from the party's congress, said that 317 of its chapters had unanimously accepted his accountability speech and demanded to retain him as leader of the country's fourth-largest party until 2005.
"If reconciliation can't be made, there is another means -- the legal process. Pak Alwi is pleased to bring this case to court," Matori told a press conference at the Borobudur Hotel.
PKB was established in July 1998 with majority support of the 45 million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Islamic group.
It split into two factions in July 2001, however, after Matori attended a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to unseat president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, a PKB founder.
Gus Dur, in his capacity as chief of PKB's board of patrons, retaliated by instantly dismissing Matori and replacing him with Alwi Shihab as leader of the PKB. Alwi served as foreign minister in Abdurrahman's 18-month-long presidency.
Both, however, claim to be the legitimate PKB leader. Only four of the PKB's 51 legislators support Matori. Each faction has since offered reconciliation deal.
According to Matori, his camp would never accept any compromise from Alwi's camp that would open its congress on Jan. 17. "We have real support -- we think we have a better future," Matori said.
Matori also slammed several newcomers in Alwi's PKB faction who received instant significant postings in the party.
Those outsiders are Alwi Shihab, former research and technology minister Muhammad A.S. Hikam, former defense minister Mahfud M.D., and former forestry minister Marzuki Usman.
"All of them are newcomers; indeed, I don't know when their membership became effective," he said.
Matori rebuffed speculation that participants in his congress had come for money. "Not only do the delegations from regional chapters know me, but I know them all," he said, citing examples of regional leaders Anshori Ishak and Mashuri Malik, who were dismissed by Alwi's camp after meeting him.
In the meantime, all members of the recommendation commission (Commission C) agreed on Tuesday to assign a special team to draft a final recommendation, which would be brought to a discussion at a Plenary Session later at night.
In a session led by Muchtar Hasan, from Matori's PKB Lampung Chapter, the commission appointed five men who hailed from Matori's PKB Chapters in Central Java, Lampung, Maluku, East Java, and West Sumatra.
The recommendation draft consists of two parts -- political statements and internal recommendations.
In the political statements, Matori's PKB demanded that the government seriously eradicate corruption and keep the country from fragmenting.
The party rejects the reinclusion of some sentences in the Jakarta Charter, which have been demanded by some puritanical groups, to the 1945 Constitution.
Matori's PKB rejected efforts to revoke an old MPR regulation banning the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and warned the people to be vigilant for a revival of the communist party.
In the recommendation draft, Matori's PKB proposed that opportunities for reconciliation with Alwi's PKB be kept wide open. "The PKB must immediately arrange the party's structures, which are accommodative," it said.
However, the party was apparently ready to formally split with the Alwi's PKB as well.
The recommendation proposed that Matori's PKB faction must be ready to be a separate party in the near future.
"The party must build its own network, it should re-register with the Ministry of Justice, and must hold internal consolidation to prepare for the 2004 elections," it said.