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Rival PKB meetings 'illegitimate'
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 07/01/2008 10:25 AM | National
The South Jakarta District Court ruled Monday that the extraordinary meetings held by the two rival factions of the National Awakening Party (PKB) were illegitimate and legally defunct.
The fractured party must therefore revert to its pre-split state, it said.
Judge Syahrial Sidiq said neither of the two rival extraordinary meetings -- one held in Ancol, North Jakarta, by dismissed party chairman Muhaimin Iskandar and the other held in Parung, Bogor, by chief patron Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid -- obeyed party regulations.
Syahrial said the meeting by Gus Dur's faction was illegitimate because it failed to provide legal reasons for the dismissal of Muhaimin. Nor was the Muhaimin faction meeting legitimate, because it failed to involve Gus Dur as party chief patron in its decision making.
The panel of judges also declared the PKB should reinstate party members to their previous positions as determined by the party's 2005 national congress in Semarang. At the congress, Muhaimin was elected as party chairman and State Minister for Disadvantaged Regions Muhammad Lukman Edy as secretary-general.
The ruling concluded months of legal battles between former president Gus Dur and his nephew Muhaimin, who is a House of Representatives deputy speaker.
In a press statement sent to The Jakarta Post, Gus Dur's faction said it would appeal the verdict.
"There was some progress in Monday's verdict but it was politically ambivalent because it included the meeting in Semarang, which was never part of the trial. The decision has actually damaged democracy and the pursuit of justice ... so, we will appeal," said Yenny Zanuba Wahid, secretary-general of the Gus Dur faction and Gus Dur's daughter.
Yenny said Gus Dur's camp would remain separate from Muhaimin's camp until the Supreme Court issued a legally binding decision.
PKB lawmaker Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, who is a Muhaimin supporter, said her camp had yet to decide whether to appeal.
"Personally, I think we should appeal because I think the court has overstepped its jurisdiction by concluding our meeting was also illegitimate. That part of the verdict was not part of our lawsuit," she said.
The conflict has split the PKB leadership and jeopardized its position as the third-largest party in the country, in terms of popular vote, in the 2004 election.
Gus Dur named Ali Masykur Musa as the new party chairman to replace Muhaimin.
Previously, Gus Dur had dismissed Muhaimin and Lukman from their positions in two separate decisions for allegedly attempting to depose him as chief patron.
Both Muhaimin and Lukman challenged these decisions.
Earlier this month, the same court issued a verdict against Gus Dur, stating his decisions to dismiss Muhaimin and Lukman were illegal and a violation of the party's statutes. (anw)
