Jakarta – Ending a 15-day whirlwind tour of six countries, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri returned home on Sunday to face critics who say she is no different from her predecessor who liked to travel instead of dealing with problems at home.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid visited more than 50 countries during his 20 months in office, while Ms Megawati has been to 27 nations since she came to power in July last year.

Critics also charge that like her predecessor, Ms Megawati failed to secure any confirmed business deals. According to a member of her staff, only a few memorandums of understanding in the economic field were signed during the trip.

A high-ranking official at the presidential palace said the trip to South Africa, Algeria, Hungary, Bosnia, Croatia and Egypt had cost the country about 22 billion rupiah.

National Assembly Speaker Amien Rais said Ms Megawati had spent billions of rupiah with no significant results. "If it had lured investors to the country that would have been fine, but the problem is, it did not," he said.

During her absence, a court sentenced parliamentary Speaker Akbar Tandjung to three years in jail for graft and Mr Sutiyoso was re-elected Jakarta governor in a campaign marred by protests.

She had hit back at critics while on tour, insisting her trip was necessary to encourage the return of foreign investment to Indonesia.