Report on Gus Dur 'character assassination'

Report on Gus Dur 'character assassination'

JAKARTA (JP): Friends and relatives of President Abdurrahman
"Gus Dur" Wahid shrugged off reports that he had an extramarital
affair with a housewife five years ago, saying it was a cheap
smear campaign to debunk the President.

Salahuddin Wahid, the President's brother, described the
reports as a character assassination.

"This is definitely an effort to tarnish Gus Dur's public
image. There are certain groups who are intentionally spreading
scuttlebutt," Salahuddin, who is also a Naudhlatul Ulama (NU)
deputy chairman, said.

He further rebuffed a photograph which shows the women in
question, Aryanti Sitepu, wearing a housedress and sitting on the
left leg of a t-shirted Abdurrahman with her right arm around
him, as a fake.

Salahuddin remarked that the photo had already been sent to NU
figures in East Java.

"I also heard that the woman, along with her ex-husband,
received an amount of money to blow up the story in the media,"
Salahuddin claimed.

The scandal hit the streets on Monday when Gatra magazine
carried an interview with Aryanti about the affair.

Panji Masyarakat magazine is also expected to come out later
this week with a similar interview with Aryanti, detailing the
affair.

According to the interview, Aryanti first met Abdurrahman in
1995, through a mutual friend.

The relationship between Aryanti and Abdurrahman, who was then
NU chairman, blossomed and eventually led to an extramarital
affair, it maintained.

Aryanti, who was then married to HM Yanur, claimed Abdurrahman
had promised to marry her and, thus, divorced her husband in
December 1996.

But things did not according to plan as the relationship
between Aryanti and Abdurrahman grew distant and eventually came
to an end. Aryanti admitted that it was also difficult to meet
Abdurrahman after he suffered a stroke. In 1998, Aryanti married
Muhammad Ali.

But those close to the President were defiant on Monday of
these claims.

National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Matori Abdul Djalil
suggested that the gossip was spread by people who wanted to oust
the President by launching a smear campaign to provoke a negative
public sentiment.

"Right now, it has become more obvious that these groups just
wants to discredit Gus Dur. This is a matter of political vested
interest. This rumor perfectly proves that most civilian
politicians are childish," Matori told The Jakarta Post.

He pointed his finger at people from the New Order regime who
wanted to regain their power and would pursue whatever means to
realize their ambition.

Matori, however, said that PKB, which was co-founded by
Abdurrahman in 1998, would not take any action to counter the
baseless issue.

"We will restrain ourselves, as we always say 'the sanest
people must yield'. The public will see the truth," said Matori
who is also deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly.

Meanwhile, Presidential Protocol bureau chief Wahyu Muryadi
doubted the authenticity of the compromising photograph.

Wahyu, who was formerly managing editor of Tempo weekly,
described Gatra's report as rubbish and without any news value.

"It's not news, it is just rumor; cheap gossip which is meant
to humiliate the President," he charged.

The President has not commented on the report. (dja/prb)