Gus Dur to meet House members on Monday
Gus Dur to meet House members on Monday
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid has agreed to meet
on Monday, the House of Representatives special committee, which
is investigating two financial scandals allegedly implicating the
President, the committee's chairman said Sunday.
Abdurrahman has sent a letter accepting the committee's
invitation to meet at a neutral location, Bachtiar Chamsyah told
journalists.
Bachtiar Chamsyah said that it had been decided the meeting
would take place on Monday at 4 p.m. at the Jakarta Convention
Center.
"I am thankful to the President for respecting the
constitution. This will be a good opportunity for the special
commission to seek clarification from the President concerning
matters which had been previously stated by witnesses," he said.
The House special committee is seeking to question Abdurrahman
about the fraudulent withdrawal of Rp 35 billion (US$3.2 million)
from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) by his masseur, and the
fate of a US$2 million donation from the Sultan of Brunei, which
the President claims was a personal gift.
Hundreds of protesters opposing Abdurrahman staged mass
demonstrations outside the House complex last week, demanding
that Abdurrahman answer the corruption charges or step down.
Abdurrahman has refused to answer a summons to appear in front
of the special committee, claiming that he is not accountable to
the House investigation.
However he said last week that he would invite the
investigation team to meet him outside the House, where they
could ask their questions, or he could answer a summons if it was
issued by a plenary session of the House.
The commission is scheduled to reveal their findings on the
scandal before a House plenary session on Jan. 29.
Later on Sunday, a source at the presidential palace confirmed
that Abdurrahman will meet the House special committee on Monday.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, informed The
Jakarta Post that a meeting previously arranged for Tuesday
afternoon at the presidential palace, had been changed because
Abdurrahman will meet with visiting Brazilian President Fernando
Hendrique Cardoso on Tuesday. (dja/byg)