B.J. Habibie moves into Merdeka Selatan Palace
JAKARTA (JP): B.J. Habibie had a light first day in his new office at Merdeka Selatan Palace yesterday, receiving a foreign dignitary and learning official protocol.
Visiting Japanese vice finance minister Eisuke Sakakibara became Habibie's first official guest after being sworn in last Wednesday.
Sakakibara refused to talk to journalists after the meeting saying that he had another appointment with Widjojo Nitisastro, the President's economic adviser.
Accompanied by Japanese Ambassador Takao Kawakami, Sakakibara left the Palace with a cheerful face.
He was apparently pleased that Habibie had chosen Japan for his first overseas trip next week.
"The main purpose of Sakakibara's visit was to congratulate the Vice President on his election," deputy chairman of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Rahadi Ramelan said after the meeting. Rahadi was present during the talks.
Earlier in the morning Habibie, accompanied by his wife Ainur, visited his mother's grave in the Tanah Kusir Public Cemetery in South Jakarta.
His mother Tuti Marini Puspowardoyo died in June 1990. His father died in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, when Habibie was 13 years old.
Also included in Habibie's schedule yesterday was a meeting with President Soeharto at the latter's private residence on Jl. Cendana, Central Jakarta.
After the meeting Habibie departed and waited for Soeharto at Puri Bhakti Rhetama painting museum near Merdeka Palace. Not long after Soeharto also arrived there.
The two, in defiance of protocol, later drove the short 400- meter distance to the Baiturrahim Mosque inside the Presidential Palace compound to perform their Friday prayers in the President's car.
Palace protocol officials, renowned for their strict decorum, were further exasperated when Habibie walked on the president's right hand side. State protocol reserves the right hand side for more senior or equal ranking statesman.
"The Vice President is very energetic. However we are sure that he will be able to adjust himself to state protocol," a senior palace official said.
"We hope that the Vice President will soon move into his official residence because it will be much more comfortable from the security point of view," the official added.
Habibie will soon have to move from his private home in Kuningan to the official vice presidential residence on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta.
In the evening, Habibie held a farewell party with staff of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), which he chaired for 20 years. (prb)