PKB splinter group elects Choirul Anam as chairman

Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Saturday's Bali bombs meant Alwi Shihab's National Awakening Party (PKB) splinter national congress went on through the night, with Choirul Anam winning the faction's top executive job.

Following the news of the blasts, Alwi, who is the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, requested the congressional committee speed up the meeting because he and faction secretary-general Saifullah Yusuf, who is State Minister for the Development of Disadvantaged Regions, wanted to go to Bali.

"The President (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) did not instruct me to go to Bali but I'll go since it's related to my job," Alwi said on Sunday.

The congress at the Sukolilo Haj Dormitory was scheduled to finish on Sunday night. Instead of adjourning for the evening it continued until 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, electing Choirul, who won 394 out of 495 votes against Saifullah Yusuf, who was earlier tipped as the strongest candidate for the post.

Choirul was later congratulated by senior clerics, including Abdullah Faqih from the Langitan Islamic boarding school in Tuban and Achmad Mas Subadar from Raoudhlatul Ulum Besuk Islamic boarding school in Pasuruan.

The splinter grouping of PKB members refuses to recognize the results of the PKB's National Congress in Semarang in April, which elected Muhaimin the leader and re-elected Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid as the chief patron.

"I won because the clerics want Saifullah to concentrate on the Ansor Youth Movement as Nahdlatul Ulama's autonomy body," said Choirul, who will hold in the post for the 2005-2009 office term.

Protest marked the congress' opening day on Saturday when dozens of people who said they were supporters of the official PKB leader Muhaimin Iskandar came to the venue, threatening to pull down the party's symbols and banners.

They said the faction was not entitled to display party symbols because a recent court verdict recognized the faction under Muhaimin. PKB cofounder and chief patron Gus Dur was invited to the congress, but did not turn up.

Alwi and Saifullah were dismissed by PKB last year as the party's chairman and secretary general after they joined Susilo's Cabinet. The party bans high-ranking party officials from holding jobs in government because of possible conflicts of interest.

In his speech following his election, Choirul said he would continue the legal process to solve the internal conflict within the party. He denied his faction would form a new party after losing the court battle against Muhaimin.

In the congress, Abdurrahman Chudlori was elected as the faction's chief patron after gaining 456 out of 492 votes. He stood against several candidates, including Alwi Shihab and Gus Dur.