Gus Dur heads home, plans white book

Gus Dur heads home, plans white book

JAKARTA (JP): Ousted president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid left Johns Hopkins Hospital on Wednesday, and is planning to set up a foundation on democracy once he arrives home, according to a news report.

Abdurrahman, who went to the hospital for a medical checkup, is due to land at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Friday at 10:30 a.m. on Singapore Airlines SQ154 after transit stops in London and Singapore, Antara reported.

His daughter, Zannuba "Yenni" Arifah Chafsoh Rahman, said that her father aimed to "uphold democracy" and use the foundation as a center for his struggle.

To realize his dream, he will cooperate with non-governmental organizations and non-Muslim figures.

Abdurrahman also plans to launch a white book on his version of his 18-month administration. The book will be prepared by a team from the National Awakening Party (PKB), which he helped found.

Abdurrahman's 14-strong entourage, including his wife Shinta Nuriyah, left Dulles Airport in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. local time (6:30 a.m. western Indonesian time).

Yenny said that her father wanted to go straight to his residence in Ciganjur but on his supporters' request he will instead head for a mosque in Matraman, Central Jakarta for a mass prayer.

"Then he and his supporters will parade to the nearby Proklamasi monument on andong (horse-drawn carts) and becak (pedicab)," Yenni said.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital has given Abdurrahman a clean bill of health.

Nuriyah said that Abdurrahman was declared fit to carry out his daily activities. "He is supposed to have his health checked once a year," she said.

During his five-day stay in Baltimore Abdurrahman met with old friend Paul Wolfowitz, a former U.S. ambassador to Jakarta and now deputy secretary of defense.

He also gave interviews to Voice of America and the Washington Post.