Reconciliation among PKB factions possible
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The possibility for reconciliation between two rival groups of the National Awakening Party (PKB) got a boost as Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nadhlatul Ulama (NU), the base organization of the party, has asked for a dialog between the factions.
Chairman of NU Hasyim Muzadi said on Saturday that the organization will facilitate the dialog between the rival groups soon, perhaps as early as Thursday this week.
"We will try to be the mediator and find more alternatives to end the internal conflict of the party," Hasyim told journalists after meeting Vice President Hamzah Haz in Malang, East Java.
"The two factions consist of NU followers, so we will offer them to have a joint special congress or to find a way to eliminate the internal problems," he said as quoted by Antara.
However, he reminded the media that NU did not expect the opposing groups to take orders from the NU, and that they must find a solution that satisfies them, because NU technically has no authority over them and is not a political organization, even though the core of the PKB originated from NU followers.
The party's conflict began following the downfall of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, who was the former chairman of NU and the party's chief patron.
Aburrahman sacked Matori Abdul Djalil from his post as chairman of the party because the latter chose to support Megawati Soekarnoputri's ascension as President replacing Abdurrahman, and in return has been appointed as the minister of defense in Megawati's administration.
Abdurrahman then appointed Alwi Shihab, former minister of foreign affairs, to lead the party until the special congress -- scheduled to be held in Yogyakarta on Jan. 17 -- elects a new chairman.
However, Matori insists that he still is the legitimate chairman and will hold his own version of the PKB's special congress with his own group of PKB followers in Jakarta on Jan. 14. He reportedly claimed that Megawati will officially open his congress.
Both Matori and Alwi have received criticism for turning to the government for support -- a common practice during the authoritarian New Order era of president Soeharto.
NU Secretary General Muhyiddin Arubusman told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that Hasyim met Megawati on Friday night at the President's official residence to discuss, among other issues, the internal conflict with PKB.
"It was a bit funny, because Matori visited the president just a few minutes after pak Hasyim, so finally the two met the President together. I don't know what they spoke about," Muhyiddin said, adding that he could not say whether it was a sign of reconciliation.
Muhyiddin said there will be a meeting between the PKB representatives from Abdurrahman's side and the NU spiritual leaders from Langitan in East Java on Monday, and there is a possibility Matori will attend that meeting.
When Hasyim was asked about his meeting with the President, he just said that the President "expressed deep concern over the internal conflict of the party."
It was also reported on Saturday that there is a possibility for Matori to join the United Development Party (PPP), the largest Muslim-based party in the country, headed by Vice President Hamzah.
One of the PPP deputy chairmen Tosari Widjaja said that it is the prerogative of Matori if he chooses to return to PPP. Before the establishment of the PKB by Abdurrahman in 1998, Matori was a PPP member.