Gus Dur warns of 'politicization' by MPs
Gus Dur warns of 'politicization' by MPs
By Budiman Moerdijat
CAIRO (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Saturday that Indonesia's newfound freedom had been "politicized" by a number of legislators to undermine the authority of his leadership and the country's unity.
In a statement distributed to journalists during the presidential flight from Abu Dhabi to Cairo, Abdurrahman said that "several legislators have been politicizing things to undermine the government and this could lead to the disintegration of the nation".
Abdurrahman, as usual, did not name anyone, but the House of Representatives' memorandum of censure on Feb. 1 for his alleged involvement in two financial scandals was directly mentioned in the statement as a clear attempt to undermine his presidency.
The President, who is on a two-week trip to Middle East and North African countries, went further by saying that statements from unnamed foreign and domestic experts on Indonesia, conveyed recently during a seminar organized by USINDO (the United States- Indonesia Society) in New York, were also attempts to weaken his government.
No elaboration was given by Abdurrahman.
"In this respect, I therefore call on the DPR and MPR members, high ranking officials, experts and the general public not to be manipulated by this politicization," Abdurrahman said.
The statement came as Abdurrahman is under pressure back home to step down after he was censured by the DPR for two financial scandals.
Abdurrahman is in Cairo to attend the third summit of eight developing nations (D-8), scheduled to be opened on Sunday.
Abdurrahman is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Egypt President Hosni Mubarak on Monday.
The D-8 Forum, which was established in Istanbul in June 1997 by former Turkish prime minister Necmettin Erbakan, groups Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
The member countries last met in Dhaka two years ago.
In a 33-point declaration issued in Dhaka, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, the member countries "reaffirm that the D-8 Forum will be consistent with the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly on Economic and Technical Cooperation among developing countries and on the strengthening of South- South Cooperation.
"The D-8 is a forum of functional cooperation which would exploit the elements of comparative advantage, complementarity, economies of scale and a commonality of interest so that real benefits can accrue to our peoples," the declaration said.
Earlier in the day, Abdurrahman met with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Zayed Sultan Al Nahyan.
Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab later told reporters that during the talks, Abdurrahman had expressed Jakarta's intention to export helicopters and airplanes to UAE.
"This issue is well taken by the UAE government," Alwi said.
Abdurrahman, the minister said, also called on the UAE government to make investment in infrastructure projects in Indonesia.
The Indonesian President also thanked the UAE for its US$4 million worth of humanitarian assistance to Indonesia, Alwi said.