PKB faction countersues former chairman Matori

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Awakening Party (PKB) camp under Alwi Shihab is countersuing former chairman Matori Abdul Djalil for using the party's symbol and logo for his own political group.

PKB deputy chairman Mahfud MD said on Monday the party had appointed noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis to prepare the lawsuit, to be filed with the South Jakarta District Court next week.

Mahfud said all chances of reconciliation between the two sides had passed due to the legal dispute.

Matori, who chairs a party splinter group, had earlier filed a lawsuit against the party following the inauguration of Cholil Bisri as a People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy speaker representing the party last week.

Bisri was nominated by Alwi's camp to replace Matori, who was fired for supporting the MPR's move to dismiss then president Abdurrahman Wahid, or Gus Dur as he is familiarly known, who is the party's founder, last year.

The dismissal was ostensibly triggered by the misuse of Rp 35 billion in non-budgetary funds belonging to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), a scandal that allegedly involved Gus Dur. The Attorney General had already cleared Gus Dur of any role in the case, known as Buloggate I, when the MPR impeached him.

Matori said the Alwi camp did not have any legitimacy because it had supported Abdurrahman's state of emergency decree, which had then been annulled by the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Mahfud said Matori could rejoin the party by following the normal procedures, which included a six-month probation period after enrollment.

Earlier in the day, Matori, who is the defense minister, hit back at the Alwi faction, which had called for a Cabinet reshuffle, saying that major progress had been made by "those in Kuningan" through their recognition of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's leadership.

Matori was referring to the PKB under Alwi, whose offices are located on Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, Kuningan, South Jakarta.

Alwi said the reshuffle should include Matori's dismissal for incompetence.

The PKB has refused to recognize the MPR special session and the ensuing political processes, which included Megawati's appointment as the president. Later on, it said the rise of Megawati was a political reality that had to be accepted.

"At the time, those in Kuningan boycotted the MPR special session and refused to recognize the present government, and now they are starting to show concern about the Cabinet. That's good progress," Matori told reporters after opening a seminar here.

"It would be much better if they came the full circle and recognized the legality of last year's MPR special session and the present government, and beg for the people's pardon for the material and political losses the country had to suffer as a result of the Buloggate I scandal," Matori said.