Alatas ponders retirement once E. Timor issue resolved
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas hinted he may consider retiring once the East Timor issue is resolved.
In an off-the-cuff remark, before delivering a speech at a luncheon here on Wednesday, Alatas said the issue had kept him from going stale dedicated during his tenure in office and that it was good to quit while on top.
The minister's remark followed a speech by Australian Ambassador John McCarthy in which Alatas' decade-long service as one of the most accomplished foreign ministers in Asia was lauded.
Before reading his official speech, Alatas thanked McCarthy, saying the kind words reminded him of the length of time he had served in the position.
"(But) one unresolved question has always kept me from turning stale, and that is East Timor," Alatas remarked.
He added that "it's always good to quit while you're on top and not when you're sliding down".
When later pressed by journalists to clarify whether his remark signaled his imminent retirement, Alatas cheerily side- stepped the question. But it was clear such thoughts were on his mind.
"I was just saying that it's about time to think about (retirement), right?" he deftly replied.
Alatas, 65, is one of the most respected Indonesian figures on the international scene. Appointed to lead the post of foreign affairs in 1988, he has now become Indonesia's longest serving foreign minister.
Known to his close friends as Alex, Alatas is a career diplomat who has served as Indonesia's permanent representative to the United Nations.
He started out as a journalist working for a stint at Niewsgier daily and then Aneta news service in the early 1950s.
The East Timor question has continued to dog Alatas throughout his term as foreign minister.
Many observers have said that Alatas -- in the past a staunch defender of the former Portuguese colony's integration into Indonesia -- may have felt undercut by President B.J. Habibie's decision to abruptly change Indonesia's policy on the issue last month.
The decision to "part ways" with East Timor if it rejected special autonomy status within Indonesia came as a bombshell to everyone.
Last week, Habibie even said that by Jan. 1, 2000, East Timor would no longer be an issue for Indonesia.
National pride
Alatas, less than two weeks before the major policy change, dismissed suggestions that no act of self-determination had occurred in East Timor and that the issue was a matter of national pride.
Some analysts have privately said the abrupt turn around in policy was developed by advisors close to Habibie and that the foreign ministry was not consulted.
Alatas rejected suggestions that his remarks about retirement reflected disappointment with the new government approach to East Timor.
"Yes, the original idea of the second alternative came from the President. But it was thoroughly discussed and supported by all of us, including myself," he contended.
"It's good to have two alternatives on the table. (They are) very clear cut choices... It's always been in the back of our minds that we need an alternative," he added.
The current Cabinet under Habibie is expected to serve until a new president is elected by the People's Consultative Assembly in November. (mds)