Susan Sim, Jakarta – Thirteen. That was the number of ministers and top generals President Abdurrahman Wahid had fired up until Thursday.

Number 14 was Forestry Minister Nurmahmudi Ismail, a former palace favourite whose regular night visits with Mr Abdurrahman in the early days of the administration led critics to dub them the Night Cabinet sessions.

Mr Nurmahmudi fell out of favour when other whisperers accused his party mentor and senior ministerial aide Suripto of orchestrating the recent student protests against Mr Abdurrahman.

But having apparently seen this coming, Mr Nurmahmudi simply went home to play badminton after the President fired him on Thursday night.

A colleague who spoke to him yesterday told The Straits Times that the Justice Party founder did not even care to contest the allegations when confronted by Mr Abdurrahman. "He took it in his stride. You can say the ship is sinking and one needs to hop off anyway."

The signs seem clear enough – Mr Abdurrahman is planning to reshuffle his Cabinet soon, the second time in seven months.

Although Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri is said to be worried that the public will lose confidence in a government that seems more fond of playing musical chairs than governing, a reorganisation is crucial.

And Cabinet ministers, critics, acolytes, are not short of names for Mr Abdurrahman to axe. Yet some of those whom insiders insist are definitely going to be shown the revolving door seem more guilty of having a stubborn streak of independence than mere ineffectiveness.

And will Mr Abdurrahman replace them with men of integrity, talent and public approval? "No," said a Cabinet minister. "He tends to be overly impressed by the sweet talkers, the slick ones who speak good English, or good Arabic, and can engage him in an intellectual discourse. Gus Dur loves good conversations. If you can project that image of a civilised man, the job is yours."

And so the current ministers who fit this bill and have not provoked too much public criticism might find themselves given stronger portfolios.

Security Coordinating Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyuno is credited by many as being the only one who does try to rally other ministers to work to a common game plan.

But while Mr Abdurrahman is expected to retain him, confidants say the minister, a former army general, is so fed-up he is looking for a graceful way to exit the Cabinet. But first, he is trying to effect a national reconciliation among the political elites.

He is fearful that the continued political deadlock will lead to massive bloodshed if the President's ardent supporters carry out a reported plan to slaughter his opponents, beginning with Assembly Speaker Amien Rais and the Islamic leaders from his Muhammadiyah movement.

If Mr Bambang succeeds in balancing a peace of sorts, his rising star could take him to the presidency or vice-presidency come 2004, even if he leaves the Abdurrahman Cabinet soon. But he also cannot afford to antagonise a paranoid Mr Abdurrahman with the millions of zealous Nahdlatul Ulama followers at his call.

So the current consensus is an uncomfortable one: Mr Abdurrahman is committed to reforming the government, but unlikely to change his old ways.

Yet, despite the sense of despair among those who still believe in him, there is also a hope that common good sense might prevail.

The break with old patterns might come next week if the president makes a public apology to Indonesians for the current messy state of affairs and admits to his own physical frailty – his almost total blindness.

"He's always insisting that he's in command, in control of things," said the minister. "If he admits that he is blind, then we can start putting in place a whole set of protocols to protect him, to ensure that at least state documents are read to him, instead of in some haphazard manner now by his family members."