Megawati views Saefuddin blunder as an 'ordeal'

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)