Vaudine England, Jakarta – Since becoming chairman of the Peoples' Consultative Assembly, Amien Rais' hair has gone grey. An impish-looking straight-talker, Mr Rais, 56, last week suggested constitutional processes could be speeded up to depose President Abdurrahman Wahid.

"It's obvious that our President has committed fatal mistakes, he has violated the presidential oath, the decree of the assembly and engaged in the abuse of power. Wahid's credibility has dropped to nearly zero," he said. "It's better if we choose a quick process."

Mr Rais also chairs the National Mandate Party (PAN), which, along with several other Islamic parties in the Central Axis coalition, helped vote Mr Wahid into the presidency in October 1999. But in one of many apparent turnarounds from his days as an open-minded student leader, Mr Rais now wants Mr Wahid out. "The bleeding must be stopped," he said last week. "Otherwise it will get worse."

Mr Rais' job at the assembly suggests he can wield great power, perhaps by accelerating constitutional procedures to pursue his goal of toppling Mr Wahid.

But holding him back from exercising such power are accusations he is an opportunist pursuing his own presidential ambitions, and the public's desire for a legitimate political process. Also, Mr Rais' party is divided and his standing among Western diplomats is low, a change from the pre-election days when his stand against Suharto was much admired.

In 1998, Mr Rais was the man many liberals and members of minority groups looked to for pluralist, democratic leadership. He led many of the demonstrations that helped topple Suharto, only calling off the largest when his one-time mentor in the Muslim world, Bacharuddin Habibie, gained the presidency.

Opinion remains divided on whether his aim was to save student lives or defuse opposition to the Suharto-era ruling clique. "Amien is an empire-building person," academic Arief Budiman said.

In the June 1999 polls, Chinese Indonesians, Christians, democrats and student activists all chose PAN, hoping it represented a new era of inclusiveness that Mr Rais had repeatedly promised.

But those hopes dissipated as he moved his party into the Islamist political fold. Observers who recall his fiery anti-Chinese and anti-Jewish rhetoric say he's again taking that tack. Despite his denials, he is also seen as encouraging the militant Muslims who have gone to kill Christians in the Maluku Islands the Laskar Jihad.

Few minorities now look to Mr Rais as their champion. Mr Wahid and Mr Rais have never got along. Mr Wahid chaired the 30-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama Muslim organisation while Mr Rais chaired its biggest competitor, the 20-million strong Muhammadiyah, before each entered national politics.

In October 1999, when Mr Wahid was surprising everybody by making deals to win the presidency, he offered Mr Rais the assembly job in return for Central Axis support. Mr Rais has since apologised to the nation for "choosing" Mr Wahid.