Mega may not meet Susilo before inauguration

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Outgoing President Megawati Soekarnoputri hinted on Tuesday that she may not meet Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla before their inauguration on Oct. 20, raising concern over a smooth transfer of power.

Susilo and Kalla, who won the Sept. 20 election by a landslide victory, have several times publicly expressed their desire to see Megawati before their inauguration.

Megawati said in Bitung, North Sulawesi on Tuesday that she saw no urgency in meeting the pair as she was never in conflict with them.

"I often ask myself why do I need to have a reconciliation. Such a move is only for two warring parties who need to sit down together and find solutions (to their disputes).

"The transfer of power proceeds peacefully as there is nothing unusual," Megawati was quoted by Antara as saying.

Following her crushing election defeat, Megawati, who is also chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), called on the House to endorse a bill that would require Cabinet ministers wishing to join the presidential election to resign at least six months before the election date.

Both Susilo and Kalla were Megawati's coordinating ministers. Susilo, former coordinating minister for political and security affairs, resigned in March, while Kalla, former coordinating minister for people's welfare, resigned in April.

While she had appealed to the public to accept the election result, Megawati has refrained herself from congratulating the two over their victory.

However, Megawati, who took over the national leadership in 2001 after the People's Consultative Assembly impeached former president Abdurrahman Wahid for incompetence, has made a number of crucial decisions, including the appointment of Army chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu as acting Indonesian Military (TNI) chief following the resignation of Gen. Endriartono Sutarto from the post.

Earlier, the government also decided to close down the Aceh ASEAN Fertilizer factory in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh allegedly due to a shortage of gas supplies.

Party sources told The Jakarta Post, on Tuesday that they were still trying to arrange a meeting between Megawati and Susilo either on Oct. 18 or Oct. 19.

It was not immediately clear, however, if the sources were referring to a planned meeting between family members of the Sukarno family or a separate meeting.

One of Sukarno's sons, Guruh Sukarnoputra, said earlier that he was arranging a meeting between Susilo and members of the Sukarno family, including Megawati, before his inauguration on Oct. 20.

Guruh, who is also a member of the House of Representatives, did not give the exact date and venue for the meeting.

Susilo, a retired four-star Army general, had held meetings with several families of former presidents and vice presidents as part of what he said as a national reconciliation campaign.

Megawati also chided on Tuesday that party members and officials left her and the party when it was apparent that she was not going to win the election.

"I have noticed that many people began to walk away from the party (when it became obvious) that the party would lose the election. We should not develop such habits, especially when the transition proceeds orderly," Megawati said.