'Political rift to end by April'

JAKARTA (JP): In a display of self-confidence, President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid placed political uncertainties behind him on Sunday by saying that the crisis plaguing his 14-month-old tenure would be settled in the coming two months.

Addressing a mass gathering of the capital's indigenous Betawi people, Abdurrahman solicited ideas from people on how to carry out the reform agenda.

"We've just come through a political crisis and lots of minor disputes. What's been happening recently are just meaningless remnants (of past crises)," Abdurrahman said, without elaborating.

The President said the country was ready to move ahead with better economic performance.

"We should all just be calm. Everything will soon disappear. I think it won't last beyond April. After that we will be able to restore our economy, develop ourselves and achieve other important things," he remarked.

The statement came amid the much-anticipated showdown with the House of Representatives which issued a memorandum of censure on Feb.1 over two financial scandals it believed to implicate the President. The memorandum could lead to a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly aimed at unseating him.

The financial scandals centered on the fraudulent withdrawal of a Rp 35 billion (US$3.9 million) fund belonging to State Logistics Agency (Bulog) employees foundation by the President's masseur and his acceptance of US$2 million in humanitarian aid from the sultan of Brunei.

Tension has mounted across the country with Abdurrahman contenders pushing for his resignation. Abdurrahman supporters have fought back, which has involved some violence as has been apparent in a series of attacks and acts of arson on Golkar Party offices in East Java, the stronghold of the President.

Abdurrahman renewed on Sunday his resistance to resignation calls and reiterated his pledge to carry out sweeping reform initiatives in line with what students across the country have demanded.

"We will push forward for total reform. I welcome advice from students, professors, bureaucrats, officers, ulemas and whoever else wishes to give me ideas of what kind of reform we want. Just mail it to Jl. Irian no. 7," Abdurrahman said.

The address is a private house in Menteng, a residential area in Central Jakarta belonging to one of the President's relatives, where he regularly holds meetings with close aides.

"The most favored ideas will be our resources, while the rest we can just add. This is what I mean with sweeping reform which isn't just led by the President, but should be conducted by the entire nation," he said.

"I will ask my people to take note of incoming ideas to conclude the basic ideas of total reform," he added.

Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung and People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, were also invited to Sunday's gathering, but none of them could come due to various other commitments.

The President played down the top figures' absence.

"A gathering of four of the nation's leaders is easy to materialize. It will only mean nothing if we meet with mischievous intentions. I believe all national leaders should place national interests above everything else," he said.

"I just hope they are here with us in spirit. Each of us has our own duties...but in general we dedicate our efforts to the country."

While rallies in support of and against Gus Dur continued, the Indonesian Rector Forum (FRI) completed its meeting in Denpasar over the weekend with a call for reconciliation among top political elites.

In its seven-point joint communique, the forum expressed worries about the lack of wisdom and maturity among the political elite, which could pose a threat to national unity.

"The forum regrets the use of violence, particularly because it affect places of worships and schools," the forum coordinator Eko Budihardjo said.

Eko said the forum also called on the political elite not to encourage blasphemy against each other or against state institutions but comply with fair and sportsmanlike rules of the game instead.

"FRI is concerned about a flurry of accusations which are based on prejudice, instead of facts," Eko said, without elaborating.

The forum also urged Gus Dur, Megawati, Akbar and Amien to "contemplate, make the public interest a priority, deliver on poor people's demands, smother revengeful intentions, prevent acts of violence and pledge allegiance to the state".

Finally, the forum demanded the leaders' commitment to upholding the law and social solidarity which in the end will significantly contribute to the country's economic recovery.

The forum groups rectors of state and private universities across the country. Only nine were represented in Denpasar's meeting, among them were Diponegoro University in Semarang, Bandung Institute of Technology, Udayana University in Denpasar, Hasanuddin University in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar and Andalas University in the West Sumatra capital of Padang. (har/dja)