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)