President's planned Middle East tour riles the House

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid once again raised a few eyebrows when he announced that he would go abroad on Monday for a three-country visit to the Middle East followed by the Philippines despite the unsettled domestic strife.

The President will be going to Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan. He is scheduled to address a meeting of the World Congress of Religion and Peace, which he chairs, in Amman on Thursday.

This will be followed by his second visit to Manila in less than three weeks to attend a meeting of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Nov. 28.

If all goes according to schedule, Abdurrahman will have spent 18 days visiting 13 countries in his 40 days in power until the end of November.

Foreign ministry sources said he would squeeze in a visit to Brunei prior to Manila and then go to China in the first week of December.

News of another foreign tour prompted an immediate reaction from House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung who questioned the government's sense of urgency in handling the multitude of domestic issues.

"I have said that the government, apart from having a sense of crisis, must also have a sense of urgency. This means recognizing what is urgent and what should become a priority," Akbar said on Friday.

"Without taking away the importance of foreign affairs, the government should recognize that domestic issues are no less important and are in fact more crucial. This is especially so for issues rising in several regions, in particular Aceh, which, if not handled wisely, could create unwanted effects toward disintegration."

"The bottom line is that domestic priorities must be put ahead of foreign issues," he asserted.

Except for Brunei, Abdurrahman has visited all fellow ASEAN member states and also Japan and the United States.

Foreign minister Alwi Shihab said that apart from giving an address to the World Council of Religion and Peace the trip was aimed at attracting investment from that region.

He said Iraq was initially planned in the trip, but due to the tight schedule it was canceled. Alwi said the President would send a special note to Iraq's President Saddam Hussein explaining the change in plan.

"The Middle East seems to be very enthusiastic about taking part in our economic recovery and they see a healthy atmosphere for investments here," Alwi added.

Commenting on the criticism of the President's frequent foreign trips, Alwi said: "The President cannot cancel this trip because the date for speaking at the World Congress was set up even before he became President." (02/04)