PPP and PKB end internal rifts
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Like the National Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP) also appears to have ended its feud with "defiant" members following the mini-Cabinet reshuffle by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday.
The PPP, the country's third largest, reaffirmed its support for the Susilo administration, although the President retained two PPP members, deemed "disloyal" to party chairman Hamzah Haz, in the Cabinet.
Previously, the PPP faction in the House of Representatives had urged the party's central board to withdraw support for its two ministers due to their "poor relations and contributions" to the Muslim-based party.
The two are State Minister for State Enterprises Sugiharto and State Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Suryadharma Ali, who were both spared the chop in the limited Cabinet shakeup.
PPP faction chairman Endin A.J. Soefihara had said the President's decision was a sign that he did not consider his party to be worthy of political consideration when deciding on the reshuffle.
Hamzah, also a former vice president, said Susilo had told the two ministers to "remember to pay their dues to the party" prior to the Cabinet reshuffle announcement.
"I told the President about how our faction members feel. The President said he considered the two to be performing well, but he would remind them of their obligations to the party," Hamzah said.
Nevertheless, he stressed that the PPP central board would monitor the improvement of the relations between the two ministers and the party in the next six months.
"If there's no improvement in that time, Pak Hamzah promised he would directly ask the President to replace them," said PPP faction deputy chairman Lukman Hakiem.
Also on Thursday, the National Awakening Party (PKB) welcomed splinter member State Minister for the Development of Disadvantaged Regions Saifullah Yusuf after a year-long split.
Saifullah, who arrived along with PKB loyalist Erman Suparno, who has been appointed the new manpower and transmigration minister, was immediately greeted with cheers and laughter by other party members.
The PKB became divided into two camps after the dismissal of former chief welfare minister Alwi Shihab and Saifullah as party leader and secretary-general respectively.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that Alwi's dismissal was invalid, but the verdict did not affect the leadership of Muhaimin Iskandar, who is backed by PKB chief patron and former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.
"We've had something of a meeting of minds and agreed to get together again step by step," Muhaimin, which was met by a smiling Saifullah, told the meeting.
Both Muhaimin and Saifullah refused to comment when asked about any formal agreement between them, but Muhaimin said the PKB had agreed to support Saifullah in the Cabinet when asked by the President.