Minister Of Religion Yaqut EMPHASIZED That He Had Not Received A Letter Of Dismissal From PKB: Just Djagean

Minister of Religion, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas. (ANTARA/HO-Kemenag)

JAKARTA - National Awakening Party (PKB) politician Yaqut Cholil Qoumas confirmed that he had not received a letter of dismissal from PKB, after PKB Deputy Chairman Hanif Dhakiri stated that Yaqut's membership from the party had been issued or fired.

"What did you fire from? There was no letter to me. Well, how come this suddenly wanted to play a fire congress. Just joke. Indeed, until now there has been no invitation to attend the congress. But until now I am still a member of the PKB," Yaqut said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 20.

Previously, it was widely reported that PKB had fired Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Chairman of PBNU Yahya Cholil Staquf (Gus Yahya), and Former Secretary General of PKB Lukman Edy from party membership.

This strong signal of dismissal can be seen from the decision of the PKB DPP which did not invite them to the PKB Congress in Bali on August 24-25, 2024.

The three of them are considered to have campaigned in other parties and are even considered to have attacked and damaged the party's honor. Thus, they were not invited to the congress and their membership was considered dead.

Responding to this dismissal, the Minister of Religion was not too concerned. He admitted that he only learned about the news of this dismissal from journalists who confirmed it on Tuesday. He did not know for sure about the dismissal because there was no letter from PKB.

Yaqut said that the dismissal of someone from PKB membership had been clearly regulated in the articles of association and household budget (AD/ART).

In this regulation, the party chairman cannot arbitrarily fire his members because they have to go through procedures such as decisions with the PKB Central Management Board (DPP).

Therefore, in the process, the DPP needs to invite the relevant cadres to clarify and so on.

"Well, this invitation never existed, tabayyun let alone? When did I campaign for another party? Strange. Well, how come suddenly gave a statement about dismissal. It's so strange," said Yaqut, who serves as Chairman of Defense and Security of the PKB.

Yaqut assessed that PKB is a big party that was born from the ijtihad of NU kiai and has open, modern and critical principles. With this principle, PKB should have really realized an inclusive party as well as open up critical spaces for its cadres.

Yaqut is optimistic that in this way, PKB will be stronger and not deviate from the railroads of struggle.

"The awareness that PKB belongs to this jointly must be strengthened. Not even a setback, by playing to fire cadres," he said.