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.