Better treatment of Anwar opens Habibie's way to APEC

Better treatment of Anwar opens Habibie's way to APEC

JAKARTA (JP): The transfer of sacked Malaysian deputy prime
minister Anwar Ibrahim from the Bukit Aman federal police
headquarters in Kuala Lumpur to the modern Sungai Buloh prison
has removed the most important hurdle for President B.J. Habibie
to visit Malaysia next month, a government official said on
Saturday.

Presidential spokeswoman Dewi Fortuna Anwar said Habibie had
decided to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
summit in Malaysia next month because he was encouraged by the
authorities' better treatment of Anwar.

The summit was also strategically very important for the
region, she said.

"The better treatment given to Anwar and a possible house
arrest status for him have eradicated major barriers for the
visit," Dewi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

A reliable source disclosed on Friday the President had
assured Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad during a recent
telephone conversation that he would attend the APEC summit in
Kuala Lumpur.

"Pak Habibie told Mahathir that he did not intend to interfere
in Malaysia's internal affairs, he was just worried about the
condition of his close friend Anwar," said a palace official who
spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The official said Habibie telephoned Mahathir shortly before
his meeting with Philippine President Joseph Estrada in Batam on
Tuesday.

Habibie told the prime minister he had to drop his planned
visit to Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 9, due to his mounting domestic
duties.

"Bapak could not go for a bilateral visit there without
meeting Anwar. Such a meeting would have been an embarrassment
for Mahathir," said the official who was following the
developments closely.

However, Dewi said, "the President did not say anything about
his conversation with Mahathir to me."

According to Dewi, unlike Estrada, Habibie preferred quiet
diplomacy in his approach to Mahathir because the relations
between Malaysia and Indonesia were very close.

"The issue is very sensitive," Dewi said.

The three countries are members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) together with Singapore,
Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. All of them are
also APEC members.

During their brief meeting in Batam, both Habibie and Estrada
expressed their deep sorrow over the arrest and beatings of Anwar
and planned to send a joint letter to Mahathir to persuade him to
grant Anwar house arrest.

"The two presidents have ordered their foreign ministers to
draft the letter," Dewi said.

Habibie met secretly with Anwar's 18-year-old daughter Nurul
Izzah for about 10 minutes after his arrival at Hang Nadim
Airport in Batam.

Nurul then met with Estrada in Manila on Thursday.

Very few officials knew about the meeting at the airport.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas insisted there was no such
meeting.

"Anwar, being a former deputy prime minister and finance
minister, should not be treated like a common criminal," Estrada
said after meeting with Habibie.

Mahathir said on Friday that he was shocked and angry to learn
that Anwar sustained a black eye and bruises while in police
custody.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Saturday
dismissed Habibie and Estrada's concerns about Anwar as personal
views which did not reflect their countries' official positions.

"The two presidents may be good friends of Anwar and this had
influenced their personal stands," AFP quoted Badawi as saying.
(prb)