PDIP chairman expelled

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