Gus Dur meets Ali Sadikin

Gus Dur meets Ali Sadikin

JAKARTA (JP): After having a series of meetings with the
country's senior citizens, including former presidents Soeharto
and B.J. Habibie, President Abdurrahman Wahid paid a visit on
Saturday to one of the country's leading critics.

The President, who is also known as Gus Dur, visited former
Jakarta governor Lt. Gen. (ret) Ali Sadikin at his private
residence in Pejaten, South Jakarta.

At the end of the unofficial meeting, the President, who is a
former government critic, described Ali as the country's central
pillar.

"We must be grateful to Pak Ali, because he has played a role
as the country's main pillar during our difficult times," the
President said after the one-hour conversation with Ali.

Also receiving Abdurrahman were Ali's wife Yulia Mangan,
National Front (Barisan National) chairman Lt. Gen. (ret) Kemal
Idris and a member of the renowned government critics group
Petisi 50 (Petition 50), Sinar Christ Key Timu.

Ali, a former marine, is a leading figure of both opposition
groups.

The President was accompanied by First Lady Sinta Nuriyah and
Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak.

National Front groups outspoken critics consisting mostly of
former senior government officials and military officers. Soon
after Abdurrahman's election as the country's fourth president in
October, Kemal vowed to give the President 100 days to prove his
competence in leading the country.

Until Abdurrahman's visit on Saturday, which was almost two
months past the given timeframe, National Front had not stated
its opposition to the present government.

Ali, dubbed the father of development in Jakarta for his
success in leading the city in the early 1970s, was a staunch
critic of former president Soeharto and B.J. Habibie. He leads
Petisi 50, which persistently demanded Soeharto's resignation
since the early 1980s.

Police questioned Ali and Kemal, along with another 18
opposition figures in November 1998, for alleged attempts to
topple then president B.J. Habibie. No one was arrested, but the
police have not dropped the case.

"He was very strong in facing the hardship. I am very
appreciative of him," the President said of Ali.

Abdurrahman won wholehearted support from the two retired
generals. In return, the President promised to go ahead with his
mission to create a democratic, effective and clean government.

Despite his support, Ali said he did not expect to see the
government's efforts bear fruit in the near future.

"The new government needs at least one year to show its
progress... And signs of progress can only be felt after two
years," Ali said.

The President has vowed to be accessible to all parties,
members of outlawed organizations and opposition figures.
Abdurrahman's style, which was uncommon in the past, has often
stunned palace officials and members of the Presidential Security
Detail (Paspampres).

Abdurrahman claimed to have regular contact with his
predecessors Soeharto and Habibie. He also visited Gen. Wiranto
shortly after suspending him as coordinating minister for
political affairs and security.

"I plan to pay courtesy calls to all senior citizens in order
to strengthen our personal relationship," the President said on
Friday.

Just one week after winning the presidential race, he received
author Pramoedya Ananta Toer. Pramoedya, who has been nominated
several times for the prestigious Nobel Prize in literature, was
jailed for years without a trial for his alleged ties with the
now defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

In December Abdurrahman met with the newly released People's
Democratic Party (PRD) chairman Budiman Sudjatmiko.

Abdurrahman recruited his fellow antigovernment activists
Bondan Gunawan and Marsilam Simanjuntak to join his government.

The President succeeded to convince outspoken economist Faisal
Basri of the National Mandate Party to join his economic team.
But Abdurrahman has not been able to persuade another past
government critic, Rahman Tolleng, to become his aide.

During his visit to Paris in February, he received Ibarruri
Aidit, the daughter of Dipa Nusantara Aidit, the PKI leader, who
was killed shortly after the abortive coup was blamed on the
party in 1965. Abdurrahman invited Ibarruri to return to Jakarta
after living in exile for more than 30 years.

"I am very heartened with his statement that a person like me
does not need the government's protection, because it is my right
to go home," Tempo weekly newsmagazine recently quoted her as
saying. (prb)