Anwar Ibrahim to visit Indonesia

Anwar Ibrahim to visit Indonesia

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim will pay a
four-day visit to Indonesia starting on Dec. 6, his first trip to
another ASEAN country since his release from jail last September.

During the visit Anwar is slated to meet Indonesian political
figures, including Vice President Jusuf Kalla, People's
Consultative Assembly speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid and former
presidents Megawati Soekarnoputri and Abdurrahman "Gus Dur"
Wahid.

According to Adi Sasono, who is co-sponsoring Anwar's visit,
Anwar also wants to meet with President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyonono, but the timing for this had yet to be confirmed.

"The visit will not be filled with political talks. Instead,
it will be a friendly visit, given the fact that Anwar has
developed good relations with many Indonesian figures, be they
politicians, academics and even poets," said Adi, a former
presidential candidate from the Freedom Party.

Anwar, 57, a former vice-president of Malaysia's ruling party,
the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), was released from
jail in September after serving six years on corruption and
sodomy charges, which he said were trumped up by then prime
minister Mahathir Mohamad to end his political career.

Anwar was rushed to a hospital in Germany for a debilitating
back illness shortly after his release and as he recovered from
the ailment, he immediately sought a return to politics and vowed
to champion the National Justice Party (Keadilan) headed by his
wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

The prison term was the second for Anwar as he was once also
detained under Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA) during his
student days as a Muslim firebrand.

During the heyday of reform fever in Indonesia in 1998,
Anwar's wife and daughter Nurul Izah visited to seek support for
his political struggle.

During the planned visit, Anwar is also slated to give brief
speeches at two famous universities, Gadjah Mada University (UGM)
in Yogyakarta and the University of Indonesia (UI) in Depok. He,
along with his 40-member entourage, will also visit the Darut
Tauhid Islamic boarding school in Bandung, West Java, which is
headed by noted Muslim preacher Abdullah A. Gymnastiar.

On his visit to Yogyakarta, Anwar will be greeted by governor
Sri Sultan Hamengkubowno X at the latter's Palace.

"An informal meeting with the Vice President will be held on
Dec. 9, when Anwar has been invited to have dinner at Pak Kalla's
residence on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta," Adi said.

Meetings with House of Representatives speaker Agung Laksono
and People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid
would be held at the national legislative complex on Dec. 7.
After this meeting, Anwar would give a speech at the Gedung
Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ), during which noted poets W.S. Rendra and
Taufik Ismail would recite their latest works.

According to Adi, Anwar would have dinner with Megawati,
Abdurrahman and several other political figures at the
Darmawangsa Hotel on Dec. 8. Anwar was also slated to deliver a
sermon at the Al-Azhar Mosque in South Jakarta before returning
to Malaysia on Dec. 10.