Akbar misses court hearing

JAKARTA: Golkar Party leader Akbar Tandjung failed on Tuesday to turn up for the hearing of a lawsuit filed by former party members Fahmi Idris and Marzuki Darusman over their dismissal.

Akbar said he could not appear at the West Jakarta District Court due to his busy schedule as chairman of the Nationhood Coalition during the ongoing People's Consultative Assembly session. Akbar is no longer a legislator.

The plaintiffs claim that Akbar violated the party's statutes by dismissing them last month. Due to the legal dispute, the General Elections Commission suspended the inauguration of both Fahmi and Marzuki as House of Representatives legislators.

The two were shown the door for ignoring the party's instruction to support the presidential bid of Megawati Soekarnoputri, whose Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle is part of the coalition. -- JP