President appoints 10 new ambassadors<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie swore in 10 new
\nambassadors at the State Palace on Friday, including incumbent
\nPresidential Household Chief Maftuh Basyuni and Lt. Gen. Luhut
\nBinsar Panjaitan.<\/p>\n
Basyuni was appointed as the new ambassador to Kuwait and
\nBahrain, while Panjaitan will be posted as ambassador to
\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
Basyuni, who is fluent in Arabic, attracted then president
\nSoeharto's attention when he served as interpreter during his haj
\npilgrim to Mecca in 1991. Not long after, Soeharto promoted
\nBasyuni to his current post. He will replace envoy D. Soesjono.<\/p>\n
Panjaitan's latest position was as commander of the Army
\nTraining Center in Bandung, West Java. He is the brother-in-law
\nof noted economist Sjahrir. His wife Kartini is Sjahrir's elder
\nsister.<\/p>\n
He will replace outgoing ambassador Lt. Gen. H.B.L. Mantiri
\nwho has held the position since 1996.<\/p>\n
Not long after replacing Soeharto in May last year, the
\nPresident planned to nominate Ruhut Sitompoel, a lawyer and an
\nexecutive of the Pemuda Pancasila organization, as ambassador to
\nSingapore, replacing Mantiri.<\/p>\n
Alatas reportedly opposed the plan because it would have been
\nan embarrassment for Singapore. Habibie has openly expressed his
\ndissatisfaction with Singapore because the government was late in
\ncongratulating him after he rose to the presidency in May.<\/p>\n
Habibie upset Singaporeans when he described Singapore as \"a
\nred dot\" in an interview with The Asian Wall Street Journal last
\nAugust.<\/p>\n
Apart from Panjaitan and Basyuni, the President also installed
\nsenior diplomat Arizal Effendy as ambassador to Australia,
\nreplacing Wiryono Sastrohandojo.<\/p>\n
Edhimurti Sunoko will replace Eddy Sumantri for Jordan,
\nNasaruddin Mochtar Koro will replace Poerwanto Lenggono for
\nMyanmar and Nepal. Zakaria Soemintaatmadja will substitute Gatot
\nSuwardi for India, M. Wasal Falah will serve in Columbia and R.
\nHaridadi Sudjono in Cuba. (prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-appoints-10-new-ambassadors-1447893297",
"image": ""
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