Matori seeks legal measure over dispute
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.