Megawati shuns meeting
JAKARTA (JP): In what could be the most flagrant snub yet to Abdurrahman Wahid, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri's aides confirmed that she would not attend Monday's meeting of political leaders convened by the President to seek a face-saving compromise for his presidency.
"Ibu Megawati will not attend the meeting because she has a full working schedule as Vice President," Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) deputy secretary-general Agnita Singadikane Irsal told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Agnita said Megawati, who chairs PDI Perjuangan, had a full pre-confirmed schedule for Monday that would keep her busy until 4 p.m.
She further underlined that it was better for Megawati to be absent since the meeting lacked a clear agenda, so there was no specific reason for her attendance.
"The meeting doesn't have a clear agenda, so the purpose of it is questionable. Furthermore, thus far we haven't received a formal invitation from the President," Agnita said.
Megawati is schedule to return on Sunday night from a health checkup in Singapore, and her "full agenda" on Monday includes chairing a coordinating ministerial meeting on economics and closing a course at the National Resilience Institute military think tank.
Abdurrahman will convene a gathering of political party leaders at Bogor Palace on Monday afternoon in what is seen as a last-ditch attempt to avoid possible removable from office during the upcoming special session of the People's Consultative Assembly, due to begin on Aug. 1.
So far, only the chairman of the Golkar Party, Akbar Tandjung; United Development Party (PPP), Hamzah Haz; and National Awakening Party, Matori Abdul Djalil have confirmed their presence.
Megawati's absence would be a great setback for the beleaguered presidency and likely close the door for those predicting any possible political reconciliation.
Separately, secretary of the PDI Perjuangan central board Roy BB Janis, who was in Bandung on Sunday to attend a party event, said Megawati was focusing more on a future separate meeting of political leaders that she would convene in the third week of July.
Megawati's husband, Taufik Kiemas, who was also present at the event in Bandung, when asked about his wife's attendance on Monday, rhetorically replied, "Well what do you think. Is it better to attend or not?"
Meanwhile, in Bantul, Yogyakarta, National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Amien Rais also said on Sunday he would not attend, saying the meeting was simply too close to the impending special session.
Amien, who is also the Assembly speaker, remarked that his attendance would only confuse the people, and that he wanted to avoid misperceptions that the meeting would be a forum for the distribution of power and positions.
Earlier in Jakarta, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab told the Post that the meeting would go ahead as scheduled on Monday, as Akbar and Hamzah had already confirmed their attendance.
Presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar said "the meeting is a discussion forum between political leaders and should not be interpreted as trying to affect the upcoming special session."
In a late development on Sunday night here, Mahadi Sinambela, deputy secretary-general of Golkar, said that Akbar would only attend the Bogor meeting if the chiefs of all the invited major political parties attended.
Mahadi was speaking after attending a meeting of senior officials of political parties, including PDI Perjuangan, Golkar, PPP, the Crescent Star Party, and PAN.
The meeting, held at the Santika Hotel in Central Jakarta, agreed once again to propose to the Assembly working committee on Monday that the special session be brought forward from its scheduled start date of Aug. 1. (25/44/dja)