PKB calls on nation to support Gus Dur until 2004

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.