SP/Robertus Wardi, Jakarta – Indonesia's oldest Islamic party was in turmoil after United Development Party (PPP) chairman and serving Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali expelled five senior members who had tried to oust him for his very public courting of presidential hopeful, Prabowo Subianto.
"It's for the sake of the organization," Suryadharma said at the presidential palace on Thursday. "There are several things that triggered [the decision to expel the five]."
Former housing minister Suharso Monoarfa was given his marching orders, as were Rachmat Yasin, Musyaffa Bierm Amir Uskara and Fadli Nursal – all senior card carriers.
Suharso took a particularly dim view of Suryadharma turning up at the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party's pomp-filled rally at Bung Karno Stadium in March, in which the party's presidential candidate emerged from a helicopter and inspected his own guard of honor. Suryadharma later praised Prabowo as a strong leader – to a mix of anger and disbelief at PPP HQ.
The high number of Indonesian political parties means that a certain amount of behind-closed-doors communication is an inevitable fact of life as alliances are forged, but the brazen openness with which Suryadharma cozied up to Prabowo crossed a line for many within the PPP grassroots and Suryadharma's actions had become an embarrassment that could be resolved only by the religious affairs minister stepping down, they said.
Several members of the party's regional boards filed votes of no confidence with the central board that Suryadharma be fired after the legislative election.
"We have received letters from 27 provincial boards – they questioned why the party's chairman joined another party's campaign. They want him sanctioned," said PPP deputy chairman Emron Pangkapi, as quoted by newsportal Kompas.com on Wednesday.
Suryadharma's extraordinary attempt to outflank detractors within his own party appears, however, to be illegal – or so says Romahurmuzy, a House of Representatives lawmaker for the party who sits on Commission IV. "I can assure you that this procedure has not been met – so any letter that has been issued must be illegal," he said.
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/ppp-farce-suryadharma-purges-critics-prabowo-coziness/