Megawati scheduled to make first formal overseas trip<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): After complaining about President Abdurrahman
\nWahid's frequent trips abroad, Vice President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri will eventually make her first formal overseas trip
\non Sunday: a three-day visit to Singapore.<\/p>\n
According to her official itinerary, issued by the Vice
\nPresidential office on Wednesday, Megawati's visit will be a
\ncombination of work and private matters, because she will also
\nundergo a general medical check-up there.<\/p>\n
The vice president will arrive in Singapore in the afternoon.
\nIn the evening, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
\nwill host a dinner for her.<\/p>\n
\"On Tuesday, Ibu Mega will undergo a general check-up at the
\nMt. Elizabeth Hospital. But this is purely a private matter,\" an
\nofficial of the Merdeka Selatan Palace said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, she will deliver a key note speech in an
\ninternational conference on cooperative movements in the Asia
\nPacific region, before flying home in the evening.<\/p>\n
After meeting with Abdurrahman, who just returned from a two-
\nweek overseas trip, the vice president went to Surabaya to
\ninspect the Naval base there.<\/p>\n
She continued her trip to Bali and Yogyakarta in her capacity
\nas the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
\n(PDI Perjuangan). She will also visit Bandung on Saturday
\nafternoon.<\/p>\n
Before contesting in the presidential election in October,
\nMegawati also checked her health in Singapore. At that time her
\naides insisted that Megawati just wanted to be sure that her
\nmedical record would not be leaked and misused for the election.<\/p>\n
The vice president recently complained that she could only
\nvisit the regions while the President had visited tens of foreign
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
She has made a few private foreign trips, including the
\ncontroversial visit to Hong Kong at the year's end and a private
\nvisit to Singapore in April. The President was reportedly upset
\nwith her visit to Hong Kong and asked her to cut her visit there.<\/p>\n
Apart from the trip, the vice president is also scheduled to
\nannounce her new team to assist her in her daily activities.<\/p>\n
According to Vice Presidential Secretary Bambang Kesowo,
\nMegawati will likely announce the new team next Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"Insya Allah (God willing), the announcement will be made on
\nJune 29,\" Bambang recently told The Jakarta Post. (prb)<\/p>",
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