PPP approves members' suspension

JAKARTA: A plenary meeting of the United Development Party (PPP) on Saturday night endorsed the decision by party leader and vice president Hamzah Haz to suspend five of its executives.

The five -- Zarkasih Nur, Suryadharma Ali, Andi Muhammad Ghalib, Lukman Hakim Saefuddin and Emron Pangkapi -- were suspended for attending a national PPP forum that sought an expedited party congress, allegedly to replace Hamzah.

The meeting, however, ruled against Hamzah's decision to suspend Ermalena, due to the fact that she had not attended the forum at which representatives of the party's regional chapters had been present.

The two-day forum that ended on Feb. 27 recommended that the next PPP leadership congress be staged later this year, instead of in 2007, in order to boost the performance of the party's leadership. --Antara