PPP and PKB end internal rifts

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.