I'll obey Megawati's advice: Gus Dur

I'll obey Megawati's advice: Gus Dur

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java

Although he has consistently refused to acknowledge Megawati
Soekarnoputri's presidency, former president Abdurrahman Wahid
said Saturday that he would heed Megawati's advice to delay
unnecessary trips to the U.S. after it required Indonesian males
aged 16 and older to register with immigration.

"I can understand Washington's policy, but as a good citizen I
will follow the advice of my leader," Abdurrahman told The
Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He said that he was slated to leave for Michigan, the United
States on Jan. 29 to speak at a seminar on terrorism at the
University of Michigan, but had canceled the trip.

"I was invited by the University of Michigan to talk about
Islam and terrorism, Indonesia's current condition and
globalization. But since there was the advice not to go then I
will not go," he remarked.

Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, was impeached by the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) for incompetence in July
2001. Megawati, then vice president, was installed as his
predecessor, but Abdurrahman refused to recognize her as the
country's legitimate president. Since then, they have only met
once, during a Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) congress last year, but they
did not talk to each other.

The U.S. registration system, conducted from Feb. 24 to March
28, is part of its efforts to fight terrorism, but provoked the
ire of Jakarta who called the policy discriminatory.

Foreigners living in Indonesia are required to report to both
immigration and police.

Gus Dur is the patron of NU, the largest Muslim organization
in the country and considered a moderate Muslim group.

Gus Dur underlined that Washington's new ruling was based on
the country's law and could not be interfered with by other
countries.

"We have to see this as legal matters and not political
matters," he remarked.

During a visit to Cirebon on Saturday, Gus Dur also criticized
Megawati over the controversial price hikes.

"Megawati made several decisions such as the electricity,
telephone and fuel price hikes, in which only the people suffer.

"And the worst of all is Megawati still insists on maintaining
the policy despite rallies across the country against the
decisions," he said.