PKB calls on nation to support Gus Dur until 2004
By Ainur R. Sophiaan and Ahmad Junaidi
SURABAYA (JP): The National Awakening Party (PKB) plans to issue a statement at the conclusion of its congress on Friday calling on the nation to support President Abdurrahman Wahid through the completion of his five-year term in 2004.
"There are demands that the congress recommend the party support the current government serving until 2004," Yahya C. Staquf, the head of the congress' Commission C in charge of political recommendations, said.
The support for the government is aimed at defending the Constitution and not solely for the benefit of the President, Yahya said.
"This recommendation is not only for PKB. We will also call on the entire nation to support the government until its term ends in 2004," he said.
Abdurrahman, a cofounder of the party, has repeatedly claimed certain parties are bent on ousting him from office, either through the House of Representatives or the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly next month, when he is due to present a report on his first 10 month in office.
During the congress, which is the party's first, PKB also plans to name Abdurrahman chairman of the party's law-making board, a powerful position with the power to veto the executive board.
Yahya said the congress also would recommend the revocation of a 1966 Assembly decree outlawing the Indonesian Communist Party. Its revocation was necessary in the spirit of national reconciliation, he said.
The President himself has backed down on his call for the Assembly to rescind the 1966 ban after massive opposition, particularly from Muslim organizations.
The issue has not been included on the agenda for the Assembly session, slated to begin in Jakarta on Aug. 7.
A draft of PKB's political statement calls for the lifting of the ban on the Islamic Masyumi Party and the Indonesia Socialist Party, both outlawed during the Sukarno regime. PKB, however, resisted a proposal calling for a ban of the Golkar Party, Yahya said.
This ban was proposed by the party's South Kalimantan chapter in view of Golkar's role in "ruining" the country during Soeharto's 32 year in power.
"Gus Dur has had to inherit these problems. Golkar should be banned for playing a major part in the New Order regime," South Kalimantan chapter chairman Hussein said, referring to the President by his nickname.
Yahya said the proposal, while understandable, was rejected because it was based on emotions.
Members of Commission A on the party's internal rules were locked in a fierce debate on Tuesday over whether to give Abdurrahman, should he be elected to chair the party's law-making body, the power to elect the chairperson of the executive body.
East Java chapter chairman Choirul Anam suggested the congress maintain the existing rule, which stipulates the congress elects the chairperson of the party's legislative board, who in turn elects the chairperson of the executive board.
Several chapters rejected this as undemocratic and called on the congress to elect the chairperson of both boards.
South Jakarta chapter chairman Zaenal Arifin proposed direct elections for both posts. PKB should learn from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which elected the chairperson of the legislative body and the executive body directly, he said.
NU, the country's largest Islamic organization with 40 million members, is the backbone of PKB. Abdurrahman chaired the organization for 15 years before becoming president in October.
Several PKB figures are vying for the chairmanship of the party's executive board, now held by Matori Abdul Djalil.
Anam said the East Java chapter withdrew its support for Alwi Shihab, Indonesia's foreign minister, for the party chairmanship at the suggestion of the President. "I phoned Gus Dur last night. He told me he needs Alwi in the Cabinet."
East Java has switched its support to poet and ulema Mustofa Bisri, he said.
Other leading contenders for the post include the incumbent Matori and Said Agil Siradj, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights.