Wan Azizah to address Indonesian seminar
Wan Azizah to address Indonesian seminar
JAKARTA (JP): Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the wife of former
Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, is scheduled to address a
seminar on women in Jakarta on Aug. 28 to be attended by leading
Indonesian politician Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Antara quoted Yunis Sofiyah, chief organizer of the seminar
titled "Women Facing Globalization of the 21st Century" as saying
on Friday that Wan Azizah had confirmed her attendance through
politician Abdullah Hehamahua. Abdullah is chairman of the Siti
Masyitoh foundation, the seminar organizer.
Yunis, however, said the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur
had yet "to give the green light" to Wan Azizah, who took up
leadership of the Malaysian reform movement following her
husband's replacement and subsequent arrest on corruption and
sexual impropriety charges.
"This will be a seminar on women, not a political seminar,"
Yunis said, adding the event was a fund raiser for the poor with
Wan Azizah to be featured as the keynote speaker.
Other speakers set to address the seminar include First Lady
Hasri Ainun Habibie, woman activist Nursyahbani Katjasungkana,
Minister of Social Services Yustika Baharsyah, businesswoman
Moeryati Sudibyo, religious affairs minister Malik Fadjar and
scholar Nurcholish Madjid.
Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) garnered the most votes in the June 7 general
election. She is also considered a strong presidential candidate
with zealous supporters promising a revolution if her bid is
unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Antara reported from New York that senior East
Timorese resistance figure Jose Ramos-Horta had praised two
presidential nominees, incumbent B.J. Habibie and Megawati. The
agency quoted him as expressing optimism that whoever would be
chosen as president would abide by and implement the New York
Agreement on East Timor.
"I like Habibie and I am fond of Megawati. If I were a member
of the Indonesian legislative body, I would choose both of them.
For sure, whoever is chosen later, I am optimistic that the new
Indonesian government will abide by the international commitment
it has agreed to," Horta said on Thursday afternoon local time.
Megawati's rival, Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party
(PAN), recently expressed concern that the polarized support for
the two leading presidential candidates would divide people. He
recently introduced an alliance of political parties, which he
called the "axis force", to break the deadlock and present an
alternative presidential candidate.
The idea has been fiercely debated. On Thursday, political
observer J. Nasikun of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta said
the real balancing force would be represented not by Amien's
group but by Indonesia's largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU).
He said NU would be able to offset the increasing antagonism
between supporters of "religious nationalism" and supporters of
"secular nationalism" represented in the polarization between
respectively Amien's party and Megawati's.
He said history had repeatedly demonstrated that the 30
million-strong NU had the greatest potential to play the
balancing act. NU chairman Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid is
Megawati's mentor and a keen advocate for her presidency.
"In every national crisis that threatens national unity, which
grows because of tensions between national interest and religious
interest, NU has consistently supported the first," Nasikun said.
"PAN's decision to join a few Islam-based political parties in
a middle-of-the-way camp will only make it an unpopular political
party."
He predicted PDI Perjuangan would eventually form a coalition
with the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate
Party for the presidential election.
"If I predict it right, NU -- through PKB -- will form a
coalition with PDI Perjuangan. Then PAN will follow suit."
Nasikun maintained that PAN would have to compromise if it
wanted to obtain better results in the next general election.
(23/swe)