Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – A cabinet minister is being targeted for dismissal by members of the political party he leads, who question his ability to take care of both party and government business.

An opposition group within the National Awakening Party (PKB) on Thursday called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to fire the party's chairman, Muhaimin Iskandar, as minister of manpower and transmigration.

The call comes amid intense speculation of a cabinet reshuffle as the Yudhoyono administration prepares to mark a year in office.

Lili Chadijah Wahid, a spokeswoman for the opposition group, said that as long as Muhaimin was in the cabinet, the PKB's own affairs would be left unattended. "If the president wants him to stay in the cabinet, then he should get him to resign as the PKB chairman so we can appoint a new leader," she said.

Lili said the party needed a leader who could focus on the 2014 polls. She also accused Muhaimin of being more loyal to Yudhoyono and his Democratic Party than the PKB.

Hermawi Taslim, a member of the opposition group, said they were preparing to hold an extraordinary national caucus to discuss the PKB's leadership, with or without Muhaimin's attendance.

"We've had enough of being split into small splinter groups," he said. "We no longer have the unity that we enjoyed under the leadership of [party co-founder] Gus Dur. To put an end to this uncertainty, we'll hold a caucus in December."

The PKB was founded by Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and top clerics from Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Islamic organization in the country with an estimated 40 million members.

The NU itself was founded in 1926 by Hasyim Asya'ri, Gus Dur's grandfather, and was later led by Wahid Hasyim, Gus Dur's father, and Gus Dur himself.

Ahead of the 2009 legislative elections, Gus Dur was forced out of the party by Muhaimin, his nephew, and the party's secretary general, Lukman Edy, leading to a major rift within the PKB.

The relationship between Muhaimin and Lukman soured after the PKB chairman nominated Ahmad Helmy Faishal Zaini to be minister of disadvantaged regions, a position previously held by Lukman.

Marwan Ja'far, head of the PKB at the House of Representatives, said the party was prepared for the outcome of any cabinet shake-up. "We have a list of replacement candidates ready," he said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Priyo Budi Santoso, a House deputy speaker from Golkar, said his party was not concerned about a possible reshuffle, but did say it would be "too much" if Yudhoyono fired all of the Golkar ministers.

He added that the president was expected to invite top officials from his coalition partners to discuss any changes to the cabinet lineup.