Gus Dur names Wimar presidential spokesman

Gus Dur names Wimar presidential spokesman

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid named on Monday
prominent talk-show host and commentator Wimar Witoelar as his
presidential spokesman.

Speaking to reporters after attending the swearing-in ceremony
of new Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto at the State
Palace, Wimar said that he would be leading a team of four
people.

Later in the day, Wimar made it clear that the team was "not
going to have the President speaks less or with less passion".

"In principle what I will try to do as a spokesperson is to be
complementary to the president rather than acting as a
substitute," Wimar told The Jakarta Post in a telephone
interview.

"He will continue to do what he does but we will complement
that, we will add to that by providing perspective, providing
background and context for his statements which sometimes create
misunderstandings," he added.

Abdurrahman is notorious for his controversial statements.

Wimar said, however, that his team would not be "concentrating
on routine statements for which there are existing officers" but
would be "providing colorful commentary and paraphrasing".

"So the plan actually depends on the ability to interact more
with the press," he said.

Wimar was best known as host for talk show Perspektif on SCTV
in the mid 1990s. The show was highly critical of the government
and it was eventually banned in September 1995.

Abdurrahman, when he was still the leader of Nahdlatul Ulama
Muslim organization, was among dozens of government critics who
had appeared on the show.

Wimar, born in 1945, was a student activist during his years
at the prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology. He dropped
out in 1970 and went to study in the United States.

He returned home after getting his MBA from George Washington
University in 1975. He is now the chairman of the PT InterMatrix
Bina Indonesia Management Consultant company. (byg)