Mega in India silences critics back home

Susanto Pudjomartono, New Delhi, The Jakarta Post

President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who arrived here on Monday on the last leg of a four-country Asian trip, responded through an aide to questions raised by politicians at home over the source of the Rp 30 billion (US$3 million) she gave in February to the police and the armed forces for barracks' renovation.

"The source of the money was the presidential aid fund," State/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo told a press conference here while Megawati was off on a private visit to the scenic Hindu holy town of Rishikesh on the Ganges river in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

Politicians at home have been questioning the source of the money, which they claimed was not listed in the state budget. House of Representatives members have even floated the idea of questioning the President over the issue.

"The presidential aid fund amounted to Rp 330 billion as per January," Bambang said. The fund, known as Banpres, was established in the 1970s by then president Soeharto.

Bambang said he had been asked by Megawati to audit the fund when the later became president last July.

Megawati who visited soldiers' barracks and officers' residential compounds earlier this year was dismayed by the poor conditions she saw. Most of the buildings were constructed in the 1960s and had never been renovated since, Bambang said.

The President is expected to stay here for four days following visits to China, North Korea and South Korea.

Megawati stayed overnight at the home of L.M. Thapar, an old friend of her father, in Rishikesh and will be back in New Delhi on Tuesday. Megawati was also scheduled to meet the widow of the late Biju Patnaik, a former Indian governor who presented an airplane to the then newly-established Indonesian government.

On Wednesday, she will meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and opposition Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi. She will also address business leaders and attend a banquet hosted by President K. R. Narayanan.

Officials said the two nations would discuss terrorism and ways of strengthening political and economic ties during the visit.