Megawati shuns key Cabinet talks: Aide

Megawati shuns key Cabinet talks: Aide

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri
intentionally skipped a critical Cabinet meeting on Sunday due to
her disappointment with President Abdurrahman Wahid's absence in
the meeting, a close aide of Megawati said on Monday.

"I don't say that Megawati was deceived (by the President) but
she was disappointed with the President's failure to turn up for
the meeting," Arifin Panigoro, deputy chairman of Megawati's
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), told a
media conference.

Abdurrahman was in Cilacap, Central Java on Sunday, instead of
attending the planned Cabinet meeting.

Arifin said that following a medical checkup in Singapore on
Friday, Megawati rushed back to Jakarta and canceled her weekend
trips to Jembrana in Bali and Malang in East Java to attend the
party's anniversary in order to join the Cabinet meeting.

"Megawati decided to go back to Jakarta after being informed
by Cabinet secretary Marsillam Simanjuntak that the Cabinet
meeting was convened to discuss an important issue," Arifin said.

Several party executives learned that the meeting would
discuss whether a presidential decree to dissolve the House of
Representatives should be issued or not.

Arifin said Megawati eventually decided to shun the Cabinet
meeting after learning that the President instead had opted to
visit Central Java, where he prayed at the grave of local
spiritual leader.

"Ibu Mega was dejected because she had already called off the
two important events of the party for a Cabinet meeting which the
President did not attend," Arifin said. (rms)