Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid revealed on Saturday that there were four major groups trying to unseat him from his presidential chair, citing that systematic attempts have been launched by the groups starting from January 2000.

The groups consist of people who have personal ambitions, people who are scared of being punished for past mistakes, people who want to keep the status quo and people who often used Islam, Abdurrahman said, as quoted by Antara. He did not name the four groups.

"They are trying to topple me, for example, with an issue that I had a relationship with a woman whose initials are AS, Aryanti Sitepu. I'm afraid AS means Amerika Serikat [the US] or Alwi Shihab [foreign minister]," he said with a burst of laughter.

Abdurrahman also maintained that he was innocent of all the allegations thrown at him, from the misuse of donations to the extramarital scandal, saying the allegations were attempts launched by anti-Gus Dur (as the President is popularly known) groups.

He denied the misuse of US$2 million donated by Brunei Darusssalam's Sultan Hasanal Bolkiah. "There is nothing, please check it," he said without elaborating. Abdurrahman was also alleged to have knowledge of Rp 35 billion in funds disbursed from an employee's cooperative of the State Logistic Agency (Bulog). A former presidential masseur, Suwondo, said he asked for the money from Bulog after receiving an order from Abdurrahman.