Low-key party for Gus Dur birthday

JAKARTA (JP): Former President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid celebrated his 61st birthday in a low-key party with his relatives and close friends at his residence in Ciganjur, South Jakarta on Saturday.

The main features were cutting a rice cone and chanting prayers.

Among his guests were caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab, former presidential secretary Adhie Massardi and businessman Marimutu Sinivasan.

Over 1,000 of his loyal supporters who came to wish him well on his arrival from a medical checkup in the U.S. on Friday were still at his vast residence. And more of his admirers keep flowing to his residence to wish him well.

Last year, Abdurrahman celebrated his 60th birthday at Cipanas presidential palace just three days before the start of a crucial People's Consultative Assembly annual session to evaluate his performance as President.

The special dish offered at that celebration used three deer from Bogor Palace, one privilege that Abdurrahman may never have again, after the Assembly fired him on July 23 for incompetence.

Megawati Soekarnoputri, who was the guest of honor at Abdurrahman's birthday last year and became his successor, did not turn up for Saturday's party, probably because the relationship between the two longtime friends has turned ugly.

At 12:30 p.m., Abdurrahman arrived at the National Awakening Party (PKB) headquarters that he founded, where well-wishers sang him Happy birthday as he alighted from his car smiling.

Abdurrahman was born in the East Java township of Jombang, on Aug.4, 1940, a stronghold of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organization that his grandfather Hasyim Asy'ari founded. (dja)