Soeharto cancels KL summit trip
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has canceled his trip to Kuala Lumpur for the 30th commemorative summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) next week.
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said yesterday that the decision was made after doctors advised the President to continue resting at home.
Moerdiono was quick to stress that the President had recovered from the exhaustion he suffered after his recent long overseas trip.
"I announced a few days ago that the President was planning to attend the ASEAN informal summit. However, after a routine checkup, the presidential team of doctors advised him not to go on any long journeys for the time being," said Moerdiono.
Soeharto summoned Moerdiono and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas to his Jl. Cendana residence yesterday.
"The President has assigned Minister Alatas to represent him in the summit," Moerdiono said.
There was no explanation of why Alatas will be attending the summit instead of Vice President Try Sutrisno.
Soeharto's presence at the summit would have lent the association's meeting special meaning as he is the only founding leader remaining in power since ASEAN was established in Bangkok in 1967.
The President decided last Friday (Dec. 5) to rest for 10 days after arriving home from a 12-day trip which took him to Namibia, South Africa, Canada and Saudi Arabia. He traveled 28,500 kilometers and endured 62 flying hours on his trip.
The President also canceled his trip to attend an Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Tehran, sending Alatas to represent him.
"The President is fit again (as he has) recovered after his long and arduous trip and state duties, but his fitness needs to be preserved and strengthened," Moerdiono said.
"He also canceled a family plan to pay homage at Ibu Tien's tomb in Astana Giribangun, Solo, on Dec. 13 (today)," he said referring to the late first lady who died in April last year.
It is an Indonesian Moslem tradition to visit the graves of their loved ones before the Ramadhan fasting month.
Soeharto had been scheduled to stay in Solo for a while, before flying to Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
According to the state secretary, the head of state must keep fit because he will have a tight schedule in the coming weeks.
"If the President goes on (another) long trip, it is feared that his fitness will decline, something which will take him even longer to recover from," said Moerdiono.
In his capacity as supreme commander of the Armed Forces's (ABRI), the retired five-star general is scheduled to lead a Military Academy graduation next week.
On Dec. 24, he will chair a cabinet plenary meeting. In the first week of January he is due to present the 1998/1999 state budget draft to the House of Representatives.
For the past several days, Vice President Try Sutrisno has been taking Soeharto's place in ceremonial duties at home, but official functions abroad have been entrusted to Alatas.
In 1979, then vice president Adam Malik represented Soeharto at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Havana, Cuba. In 1986, Soeharto sent then vice president Umar Wirahadikusumah to attend the NAM summit in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Since taking up his position as the country's second most important person in 1993, Try has spent most of his time in Jakarta. He has made only one official visit, to Australia in September 1994.
"The President asked me to convey a message to (Malaysian) Prime Minister Mahathir about his condition and the reasons he cannot be present there," Alatas said. (prb)