Syaifullah faces imminent dismissal

SURAKARTA, Central Java: National Awakening Party (PKB) deputy chairman A.S. Hikam said here on Friday that the party was considering dismissing its secretary-general, Syaifullah Yusuf, for violating the party's internal rules.

Hikam said that a team was investigating the alleged violations and would report the outcome of the probe to the party's central board during a plenary meeting set for July 30.

Hikam said Syaifullah's had put his future at stake by strongly urging that the PKB under chairman Alwi Shihab make peace with a splinter group led by Matori Abdul Djalil.

Syaifullah is also known to have challenged a decision by Abdurrahman Wahid, the party's chief patron and his uncle, who insisted that Syaifullah withdraw his bid for the governorship of East Java. The PKB lost to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle in the gubernatorial election. -- Antara