Saifullah Yusuf quits Mega's party, join PKB

Saifullah Yusuf quits Mega's party, join PKB

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Saifullah Yusuf is back in the habitat where he belongs:
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization that claims
to have 40 million members.

After three years serving as a legislator with the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), he announced on
Tuesday he would join the NU-linked National Awakening Party
(PKB), the country's fourth largest political party.

Over the years, Saifullah has also served as a "liaison
officer" between PDI Perjuangan chief Megawati Soekarnoputri and
PKB patriarch Abdurrahman Wahid.

Megawati and Abdurrahman were close allies until an
impeachment process brought the latter down last July, allowing
Megawati to assume the presidency.

Saifullah, a nephew of Abdurrahman, is shifting his allegiance
to the PKB for a reason: he wants to take over the leadership of
the party, which has split due to leadership rivalries.

He will be nominated as chairman of the PKB camp loyal to
Abdurrahman, which will hold its congress from Jan. 17 to Jan. 19
in Yogyakarta. The rival camp is led by Matori Abdul Djalil, an
ally of Megawati, who was appointed as her defense minister.

Reliable sources told The Jakarta Post that Saifullah has the
support of influential PKB leaders.

After meeting PDI Perjuangan chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri
on Tuesday, Saifullah said the reason why he was quitting the PDI
Perjuangan was because he wanted to be "among his friends" in
Ansor and the PKB.

Ansor is the NU's youth wing and is chaired by Saifullah.

"I do not have enough time to be a good legislator for the PDI
Perjuangan because I also have to lead Ansor. I have decided to
be with my friends again in the PKB," Saifullah said.

He confirmed reports that he harbors the ambition of leading
the PKB. "If I have enough support, I will run for the
chairmanship of the PKB," he said.

Saifullah was known as a good friend of Megawati and he
accompanied her on official trips while she was the vice
president in Abdurrahman's presidency.

Megawati accepted Saifullah's resignation as a PDI Perjuangan
legislator and expressed the hope that he would maintain the good
relations between the two parties, both of which were committed
to nationalism.