Ba'asyir writes Mega over wealth

JAKARTA: President Megawati Soekarnoputri read on Friday a letter from detained Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who urged her to donate half her wealth to the cash-strapped country.

Presidential secretary Kemal Munawar said Megawati read the letter as soon as she received it from him, but Kemal refused to discuss Megawati's reaction.

"I cannot give you the details, but she read it immediately," Kemal told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Ba'asyir is currently under detention for his alleged involvement in the 2000 Christmas bombings and a plot to assassinate Megawati. He could face the death sentence.

The cleric sent letters to Megawati and Vice President Hamzah Haz urging the two leaders to lead a simple life.

The handwritten letters were delivered to the presidential secretariat on Thursday by one of Ba'asyir's lawyers, Mahendradatta. --JP