Megawati views Saefuddin blunder as an 'ordeal'

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Food and Horticulture A.M. Saefuddin has again apologized for remarks which incurred the wrath of thousands of Hindus, but Megawati Soekarnoputri -- the original target of the minister's statement -- has remained noncommittal.

"I'd rather be silent (over the furor). I see this as a test (from God) that I have to face," Megawati said here on Wednesday during a visit to a branch office of the faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) under her leadership.

"I will remain patient, silent, and avoid confrontation," she said. "I'd rather keep calm over things."

From Canberra, Antara reported that Saefuddin had again apologized for his statement but refused to resign from the Cabinet as many have demanded. He said that resigning would not be a patriotic thing to do.

The minister, who was in Melbourne when interviewed on Wednesday, accused "several parties" of exploiting the case and turning it into political issue to nudge him out of his post. He did not mention any names.

Saefuddin sparked anger when he said earlier this week that he was a more suitable presidential candidate than Megawati because he was a Moslem while Megawati was "a Hindu." He justified his statement by citing pictures of Megawati praying in Balinese Hindu temples.

Saefuddin, who is an executive of the Moslem-oriented United Development Party (PPP), also said that predominately Moslem Indonesia would not agree to a Hindu president.

On Wednesday the embattled minister said his statement had come naturally because of the pictures of Megawati praying in Hindu temples, saying they had led him to the conclusion that she was a Hindu.

Some people have called on Megawati to declare her religious affiliation once and for all. She has yet to respond, but her daughter was married in an Islamic ceremony.

Meanwhile, Antara reported from Denpasar that the biggest rally yet seen against Saefuddin was staged in Bali on Wednesday.

Thousands of people -- some estimates put the number at 100,000 -- staged a peaceful protest demanding Saefuddin's resignation.

Many protesters were clad in colorful traditional costumes. They marched down Denpasar's main thoroughfares and converged at the city's Niti Mandala Renon field.

Back in Jakarta, leading human rights lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution also lashed out at Saefuddin and warned President B.J. Habibie that national disintegration was possible if he retained Saefuddin in the Cabinet.

"Habibie must be firm in this case... his minister's statement has had a massive impact," he told journalists after addressing a discussion organized by the Foreign Alumni Communication Forum (FOKAL) here on Wednesday.

At one point in the protest, Balinese Hindus threatened succession from Indonesian if Habibie refused to meet their demand. Habibie had earlier rejected calls for Saefuddin's dismissal, saying he was satisfied with the latter's performance.

When asked about the threat of succession, Megawati said she doubted it was pertinent.

"It's impossible that the Balinese would want to secede from Indonesia and establish an independent state," the eldest daughter of the country's founding president Sukarno asserted.

"The Balinese' stance is an expression of their dissatisfaction with the minister's statement and behavior," she added. Megawati's paternal grandmother was Balinese.

Separately in the West Java capital of Bandung, a group of Moslem youths grouped in the Bandung Moslem League rallied in front of the provincial legislature in defense of Saefuddin. They urged Hindus to help maintain inter-religious harmony in Indonesia.

"It would be very unwise to disrupt it," spokesman Fahruz Zaman Fadly was quoted as saying on Wednesday by Antara.

They urged Megawati to apologize to Moslems for praying places other than a mosque if she was Moslem and charged that Megawati had violated Islamic law.

In another related development on Wednesday, Budi Hardjono from the PDI faction opposed to Megawati said in Padang, West Sumatra, that he believed Megawati was indeed a Moslem.

Budi also said that Saefuddin's remarks were his own responsibility and should not be exploited to generate religious conflict.

"If religions are pitted against one another, it will have a negative impact on the nation," he said as quoted by Antara. (imn/aan)