Megawati keeps in touch with Gus Dur
Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Bali/Jakarta
In an apparent bid to maintain the mood of reconciliation in the run-up to the election runoff, President Megawati Soekarnoputri held talks with her predecessor Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid on Friday, the fourth meeting between the two in the past month.
Both figures met for around 30 minutes at the Hindu temple of Besakih in Bali after attending a mass prayer held prior to the Hindu holiday of Kuningan.
After the meeting which finished at around midnight on Friday, Gus Dur denied speculation of talks on a coalition during the meeting, which was also attended by Megawati's husband Taufik Kiemas, singer Franky Sahilatua, Confucianist Bingky Irawan and Gandhi Ashram leader Agus Indra Udayana, who organized the prayer.
"There were no talks of a coalition or declaration related to the election runoff," Gus Dur said.
The two had originally been scheduled to meet in the Hindu ritual for peace Agni Hotra in Klungkung earlier in the day, but Megawati failed to turn up,
Megawati invited Gus Dur to spend the night at the Tampak Siring presidential palace, but the former president refused.
"Gus Dur said he wanted to sleep at Jeron Saren, I just heeded his wish," Agus Indra said on Saturday, referring to the residence of his royal family, which is situated in Klungkung.
Agus Indra said Megawati and Gus Dur talked about religious harmony and national unity.
Megawati and Gus Dur met for the first time on July 21, exactly three years after she took over from him after he was dismissed by the People's Consultative Assembly for incompetence. The two met again twice since then, the most recent meeting being at the grave of founding president Sukarno, Megawati's father, in Blitar, East Java last week.
Megawati will face Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the Sept. 20 runoff after they both topped the polls in July.
Meanwhile Susilo and running mate Jusuf Kalla continued efforts to woo grassroot support, with Kalla visiting the Ar- Rahman Muslim boarding school in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta on Saturday.
During his visit, Kalla urged Muslim boarding schools to familiarize students with entrepreneurship as part of efforts to help propagate Islamic teachings, Antara reported.
"With a stronger economy, we can provide more donations, which is better than asking for financial assistance," Kalla, a prominent businessman, said.
Susilo is slated to join a fun run with the Chinese-Indonesian community in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta on Sunday morning, amid allegations that his running mate Kalla discriminates against businesspeople of Chinese descent.
Megawati's running mate Hasyim Muzadi visited on Saturday members of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization which he leads, in East Java.
During the meeting, Hasyim promised NU seats in the Cabinet under Megawati.
Local NU leader Masduqi Mahfudh said his organization would not accept a visit by Susilo until after the Sept. 20 runoff.
"We are not rejecting him, but we cannot receive him now because we do not want to confuse our people at the grass roots," Masduqi said.