Susilo returns, but no Kalla at airport
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived home here on Saturday after leaving the country for an official trip to Malaysia and Thailand.
A number of Cabinet members welcomed him as he landed at the Halim Perdanakusumah air base in East Jakarta; the protocol to welcome a president who arrives back from a foreign trip.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla, however, was absent. Since taking office in October last year, he has never missed such a ceremony, a development that may give Jakarta's political pundits new ammunition to speculate over the rising political rivalry between Susilo and Kalla, who chairs the Golkar Party, the largest in the House of Representatives.
Kalla flew to Padang from Halim Perdanakusumah earlier in the morning to open a Minang ceremony and other events in the West Sumatra capital of Padang. According to his aides, Kalla had informed Susilo that he was unable to welcome the President at the airport.
The President held a limited Cabinet meeting upon arrival at the air base's VIP room with Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto, Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf, Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and National Police chief Gen. Sutanto.
Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said that the ministers gave an update to the President on the famine in Papua, the ruling of the Supreme Court on the mayoral election dispute in Depok, West Java and the peace-building process in Aceh.
The President specifically ordered Sutanto to investigate a trafficking case involving an Indonesian worker in Malaysia forced to work as a prostitute by her agent.
"The President said that it shall not be considered a solitary case and asked the National Police chief to investigate the case of forced prostitution and other related cases," Andi said.
Susilo also asked Sutanto about developments in the investigation into alleged graft at the immigration section of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Susilo asked Aburizal to solve the problem of famine due to crop failure in Papua. The minister reported to the President on a series of measures to be taken by the government to help the Papuans as well as a plan to prevent any famine in the future.
The President, who is scheduled to visit Aceh for the first anniversary of the Dec. 26 tsunami, asserted that the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) shall continue to uphold the peace deal, Andi said.
Indonesia and GAM signed a peace accord in Helsinki on Aug. 15 to end 32 years of conflict in the province, which was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami that left over 131,000 dead and 500,000 others homeless.