Gus Dur flies to the U.S. on a commercial flight

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid left for the United States from Soekarno-Hatta International airport on Thursday on board a commercial airliner rather than the presidential jet.

He saved the government Rp 1 billion (US$148,000) in the process.

Embarking on his second foreign tour since taking office on Oct. 20, Abdurrahman is scheduled to meet with President Bill Clinton in Washington on Friday; he will proceed to Salt Lake City, Utah, afterwards for treatment on his poor eyesight.

On the way back, he will stop off in Tokyo for a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on Monday. He returns to Jakarta on Tuesday, according to his aides.

The President's entourage includes First Lady Sinta Nuriyah, two of his daughters and Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab.

Breaking a long tradition of taking the presidential jet on foreign visits, the President took a scheduled Garuda Indonesia flight to Tokyo.

There were no details of his connecting flights to Washington. The First Lady is said to be flying directly to Salt Lake City.

Alwi had earlier said that by using commercial flights, the government would save about Rp 1 billion in costs.

During this trip, Indonesia's economic recovery will be as much in Abdurrahman's mind as enhancing bilateral relations.

In Washington, the President plans to meet with the executives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, two lending agencies crucial to Indonesia's economic recovery program. In Japan, he will be joined by Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Kwik Kian Gie.

The President, however, has been widely criticized for taking a series of foreign tours while trouble was brewing in Aceh.

He returned home on Tuesday from a five-day whirlwind tour to eight members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The President has promised to visit Aceh after his return from the United States, and has dispatched State Minister of Human Rights Affairs Hasballah M. Saad to Aceh this weekend to prepare for his planned dialog with Aceh leaders.

No date has been set for his Aceh trip. (gis/prb)