President asked to curtail his controversial statements<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Politicians and observers here decried on Monday
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid's habit of making controversial and
\noften reckless statements during his overseas trips, saying this
\nonly served to cause needless confusion at home.<\/p>\n
Political scientist Fachry Ali lamented Abdurrahman's
\ntrademark off-the-cuff banter.<\/p>\n
"He makes these statements which don't ease existing tensions,
\nbut only create new ones," Fachry said during a discussion
\nassessing Abdurrahman's presidency.<\/p>\n
He noted the stream of denials which come out anytime
\nAbdurrahman makes a statement.<\/p>\n
Not known for his tact, Abdurrahman has made it a habit of
\nblurting snap statements with little elaboration or evidence.<\/p>\n
The latest round of criticism came after the President alleged
\nduring a visit to Rome on Sunday that there had been a plot in
\nthe mid-1990s to assassinate him and now Vice President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
But on Monday, both Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung and Gen.
\nWiranto, the two people who allegedly knew of the assassination
\nplot, denied ever discussing such a plot with the President.<\/p>\n
Separately, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung
\nalso called on Abdurrahman to be more careful of what he said
\nduring his overseas visits.<\/p>\n
He said such careless remarks had a direct affect
\ndomestically, especially when the President was overseas.<\/p>\n
"It's better for Gus Dur to curtail his controversial
\nstatements, which could disturb political stability here," Akbar
\nsaid, referring to Abdurrahman by his nickname.<\/p>\n
He said the remarks about the assassination plot and Feisal
\nonly added to the confusion at home.<\/p>\n
Akbar pleaded for the President to refrain from making such
\nremarks and simply concentrate on his tasks while overseas.<\/p>\n
Akbar even suggested that the often confusing remarks made by
\nthe President were in part due to his physical handicap.<\/p>\n
He said the fact that Abdurrahman was visually impaired
\ncontributed to his possible misinformation, as he was unable to
\nread reports for himself.<\/p>\n
"I hope Gus Dur will recheck all important information he
\nreceives from his assistants before publicly commenting on it,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Many of the President's claims during his current overseas
\ntrip have been refuted the following day.<\/p>\n
Leaders of the separatist Free Aceh Movement called
\nAbdurrahman a liar after he said that a cease-fire had been
\nhammered out between the rebels and the military during a secret
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Military officials also denied Abdurrahman's
\nallegations that a covert meeting of generals had been held
\nduring the height of coup rumors in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Despite these perceived flaws, Fachry praised the President
\nfor his candor and bravery, particularly in challenging the
\nmilitary's supremacy in politics.<\/p>\n
"On the plus side, he is the only civilian who dares stir the
\nmilitary's power," he remarked.<\/p>\n
He conceded that much of Abdurrahman's moves were difficult to
\nanalyze as the President seemed to base his judgments purely on
\ninstinct.<\/p>\n
Fachry pointed to the President's seemingly endless foreign
\ntours as an example. "I don't understand why Gus Dur conducts
\nthese grand political visits abroad. He gets political support
\nfrom abroad which allows him to arrest separatist tendencies, but
\ndoesn't really resolve the domestic issues at hand". (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-asked-to-curtail-his-controversial-statements-1447893297",
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