President's reply drawn up in hotel

JAKARTA (JP): The affairs of state were moved on Wednesday from Medan Merdeka to a presidential suite on the 12th floor of a five-star hotel in Senayan, Central Jakarta, where President Abdurrahman Wahid spent the whole day.

It began with the weekly Cabinet meeting, which is commonly held at the Bina Graha presidential office, and was followed with an intensive discussion among ministers tasked with preparing the President's reply to the People's Consultative Assembly to be presented later in the day.

From 9:30 a.m., a number of Volvo limousines, the ministers' official cars, were seen entering the parking lot of the hotel. About four hours later most of the cars had left the hotel, signaling that the Cabinet meeting was over.

However, just 30 minutes later some ministers came back. According to a source close to the Palace, Abdurrahman summoned them to prepare his reply to the Assembly.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab, Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Minister of Forestry and Plantations Nur Mahmudi Ismail, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Kwik Kian Gie and State Minister for the Empowerment of Women Khofifah Indar Parawansa were among the names involved in drafting the substance of the reply.

Abdurrahman's two close confidants, Alwi and Susilo, stayed with the President until they all left for the nearby Assembly compound to deliver the speech in the evening. (dja)