Protest mars PKB splinter group's congress
Protest mars PKB splinter group's congress
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post/Surabaya
Protest marked the opening day of the national congress held by
the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction under Alwi Shihab here
on Saturday.
Dozens of people who claimed to be supporters of official PKB
leader Muhaimin Iskandar came to the venue of the congress at
Sukolilo haj dormitory just before the event was opened,
threatening to pull down the party's symbols and banners.
They said Alwi's faction were not entitled to display party
symbols following a recent court verdict that recognized the
faction under Muhaimin.
"We're ready to die for Gus Dur," one of the protesters
shouted, referring to the PKB cofounder and chief patron
Abdurrahman Wahid by his nickname. "The congress is not
legitimate because they (the Alwi faction) lost in court."
Police guarding the congress prevented the crowd from
committing acts of vandalism and managed to disperse them.
The Alwi faction's secretary-general Saifullah Yusuf said his
side would ignore the protest and would leave the matter to
senior Nahdlatul Ulama clerics who support the faction.
"We will try to initiate reconciliation with the Muhaimin
faction. We are not pursuing a win or seeking their defeat,
because this is about justice and truth," Saifullah told The
Jakarta Post.
PKB dismissed Alwi and Saifullah last year as the party's
leader and secretary-general after they joined the Cabinet of
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The party bans high party
officials from holding jobs in the government, citing possible
conflict of interests.
Gus Dur was invited to the congress, but did not turn up.
Senior clerics critical of Gus Dur, including Abdullah Faqih
from the Langitan Islamic boarding school in Tuban, Achmad Mas
Subadar from Pasuruan, Achmad Sofyan from Situbondo, Idris
Marzuki from Kediri, Masduki Mahfud and Mahruf Amin from Jakarta,
were present.
The clerics have refused to recognize the results of the PKB
congress in Semarang in April, which elected Muhaimin the leader
and reelected Gus Dur as the chief patron.
The clerics also expressed their support for the government's
decision to raise fuel prices.
Saifullah has been touted as the strongest candidate for the
top executive job, while Idris will compete with Mahruf Amin and
Abdurrahman Chudlori for the chief patron post in the congress,
which will conclude on Sunday.