PKB is a no-show at House plenary session
JAKARTA (JP): Legislators of the National Awakening Party (PKB) were nowhere to be seen during the House of Representatives plenary session on Thursday at which President Megawati Soekarnoputri gave her state-of-the nation address.
The 57 seats allotted to the PKB legislators were left vacant. House leaders had no formal explanation about the matter.
On Wednesday, PKB leaders agreed in a national working meeting that the party's faction would return to the House after it withdrew in protest at the removal of then president Abdurrahman Wahid, its paramount leader.
Ali Masjkur Musa, a member of the PKB faction in the House, said on Wednesday that the party's invitation to attend the House plenary session was a form of recognition of the faction's presence in the legislative body.
PKB chairman Alwi Shihab told The Jakarta Post that all the House members from that PKB had gone to the provinces "to disseminate information about the results of this week's national meeting".
Muhaimin Iskandar, a deputy House speaker, was sick, according to Alwi. "But we will definitely be back in the House on Aug. 18," Alwi said.
PKB leaders chose to visit their constituents instead of attending the House plenary session to listen to Megawati's maiden state-of-the-nation address.
This, according to Alwi, was because the politicians intend to mobilize grassroots support to block an attempt by the dismissed PKB chief Matori Abdul Djalil to hold an extraordinary congress and challenge his dismissal.
Matori was fired for attending the People's Consultative Assembly Special Session, boycotted by the PKB, in which Abdurrahman was removed from the presidency. Matori, however, considers his dismissal as party chief unlawful. In an apparent token of appreciation for Matori's show of support for her, Megawati, who was elected president on July 23, appointed him defense minister.
Alwi said that the faction had decided to return to the House and welcomed the friendly gesture from the House and Assembly.
He further disclosed that the faction would nominate a replacement for dismissed chairman Matori Abdul Djalil for the Assembly deputy speaker position.
"We have two candidates, Yusuf Muhammad or Ma'aruf Amin to become the Assembly deputy speaker," Alwi said after the ceremony.
Matori said he believed the PKB legislators were too embarrassed to attend Thursday's House plenary after they withdrew from the House only to decide to return.
Before opening the plenary meeting, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung told journalists that some House members might ask questions if the PKB faction showed up.
He said the legislators were demanding that the PKB clarify its stance on the decree issued by president Abdurrahman, in which he ordered that the House and the Assembly be dissolved, before the party's factions could return to the legislative bodies.
Matori also ridiculed the PKB legislators for demanding an allowance for the various House meetings that they never attended, including the Special Session which they had rejected.
"It's shameful," he said.
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Amien Rais reiterated on Friday that the Assembly would welcome the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction back, saying that it was better to look to the future.
Speaking to journalists after attending the flag-hoisting ceremony, Amien said that it was not important for the faction to make any clarification, as long as it had a bona fide intention to return to the Assembly.
"We have a difficult task ahead of us, so if it has a good intention to come back please do ... we do not want to prolong the issue anymore. Having it back with us will be the most important thing," Amien said.
He underlined that with the presence of the faction at the Assembly, it showed that its stance, which was previously one of support for former president Abdurrahman Wahid, had changed.
"I have talked to Pak Akbar, saying that the faction would like to notify the House that it is returning ... we should not make a fuss anymore over the matter," Amien said. (dja/pan)