PDIP chairman expelled

JAKARTA: Secretary-General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Soetjipto announced at the weekend that the party's executive board had officially dismissed the chairman of its Surabaya branch, Mochamad Basuki, for inappropriate behavior.

Soetjipto confirmed that Basuki had been dismissed on Tuesday for improper behavior, which had adversely affected the party's image.

"Basuki seriously violated the party's regulations," Soetjipto said.

Soetjipto said that the consideration to dismiss Basuki was raised last July when he made an improper statement, "If you want to be rich, be a politician", which was broadcasted by several radio stations in Surabaya.

"As the secretary-general, who has the authority to dismiss him, I opted to give him four more months to correct his misdeeds. But he was caught partying with several female friends during a raid on night spots in Surabaya. Therefore, we cannot keep him anymore," Soetjipto said. -- JP