PKB finally accepts Megawati's government

JAKARTA (JP): The National Awakening Party (PKB), a staunch supporter of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, finally decided to acknowledge the new government under President Megawati Soekarnoputri in its two-day meeting that ended early Wednesday.

Arifin Junaidi, secretary of the party's advisory council, said the decision was taken at a plenary session which was attended by about 60 clerics of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization supporting the party.

He said both the participants of the meeting and the clerics considered the recent presidential succession the law of God (sunnatullah), which was viewed as a motivation to achieve a better future.

Arifin explained that in its political recommendations, PKB called on the political elite to practice good ethics in politics.

PKB previously claimed the hastened Special Session, which led to the ousting of Abdurrahman from the presidency, was unconstitutional. It also strongly supported the issuance by the former president of a presidential decree declaring a state of civil emergency and dissolving both the House of Representatives and the Golkar Party.

Muhaimin Iskandar, secretary-general of PKB, said his party's legislators would come back to the House of Representatives (DPR) and attend the House plenary session on Thursday to hear Megawati's state-of-the-nation address in conjunction with the commemoration of Independence Day on Aug. 17.

He said his party would not give any clarification to the House with regard to its support for the former president's decree on the dissolution of the House.

Ali Masjkur Musa, who in the meeting was appointed the new chairman of the PKB faction to replace Taufikurrahman Saleh, concurred and said there was no obligation for his party to provide such a clarification.

"What's the use of clarification? DPR is our house and we have our own key to come in. So clarification is not necessary," he said as quoted by Antara.

Amien Rais, Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, also insisted recently that PKB provide clarification first (over their support for the dissolution of the House) before reviving its faction in the legislature.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said the House had invited PKB to explain the plan to revive the PKB faction, but no response was made.

He confirmed that Ali Masjkur met him at the House building on Wednesday afternoon, but said nothing about the PKB faction.

According to Akbar, PKB is not required to give clarification, but the party should confirm its faction's revival and its legislators' presence at Thursday's plenary meeting to avoid any possible interruptions from other factions.

"We don't want the plenary session to degenerate into chaos in the presence of our President who is slated to deliver her state- of-the-nation address," he said. (rms)