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.