Habibie mulls APEC attendance: Paper

Habibie mulls APEC attendance: Paper

BANGKOK (Agencies): Indonesian President B.J. Habibie was quoted on Sunday as saying he was "very concerned" about the reported treatment of sacked Malaysian minister Anwar Ibrahim and would have to consult the House of Representatives on whether to attend November's summit in Kuala Lumpur of Asian and Pacific nations.

"It's difficult for me," Habibie was quoted as saying in an interview with the Thai newspaper The Nation when asked if he would attend the summit while Anwar was behind bars.

"I'm not coming (in a personal capacity) but coming as the president of the 211 million people of Indonesia. I have to consult the parliament (House)."

Habibie had been due to visit Malaysia this month and is also to attend the 18-nation Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) meeting on Nov. 17-18.

Indonesian Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung told reporters last week that Habibie was reconsidering his October visit to Malaysia, saying the president was too busy. But he insisted relations between the two predominantly Moslem neighbors were good.

Anwar, who was sacked as deputy prime minister and finance minister by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Sept. 2 and arrested 18 days later, appeared in court last week with a black eye after 10 days in police detention.

He has pleaded innocent to sodomy and corruption charges, and says he was punched and slapped in detention, left unconscious and denied medical attention for five days.

"I'm very concerned over how my friend Anwar Ibrahim has been treated," Habibie was quoted as saying during the interview on Saturday. "I'm concerned because people should not forget that Anwar Ibrahim contributed a lot for the benefit of his country."

The paper said Habibie stressed he was also a friend of Mahathir and observed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other member countries.

Separately, Australia's newly re-elected Prime Minister John Howard reaffirmed on Sunday plans to attend next month's APEC meeting in Malaysia.

"I'll certainly be attending the APEC meeting in Kuala Lumpur in November," he told reporters at his harbourside Sydney residence.

His attendance was thrown into doubt amid the political turmoil in Malaysia that Trade Minister Tim Fischer said at the time threatened the viability of the meeting and the future of the forum generally.

Howard has expressed deep concern over "growing authoritarianism" in Malaysia in the wake of Mahathir's ousting of Anwar. Mahathir hit back at the comments in an angry exchange.

The Australian prime minister lightheartedly acknowledged on Sunday that his Malaysian counterpart had not been the first to call with congratulations after his narrow win at the Saturday election.

Howard also foreshadowed a stronger focus on the group as the region continued to grapple with the financial crisis.

"It's very important, given the Asian downturn ... that we intensify our efforts to make APEC work and to make APEC succeed," he said.

Last week, Philippine President Joseph Estrada told reporters he might boycott the summit "because they put my good friend, Anwar, behind bars" but later denied making the statement and said he would be attending.

Anwar has received widespread support from populist political figures and the media in Indonesia, with many drawing parallels between the reform movement in Malaysia and the reform demands in Indonesia which helped push autocratic former president Soeharto out of office in May after 32 years in power.