Reuters in Jakarta – Senior politicians yesterday warned President Abdurrahman Wahid that discontent with his erratic 17-month rule was so intense he had little chance of surviving much longer in office. Mr Wahid, fighting for his political life, on Wednesday answered Parliament's February 1 censure of him over two financial scandals involving more than US$6 million.
He rejected the charges and apologised for any inappropriate behaviour, but politicians said the response was unlikely to save him from a second censure move late next month, which would take him further down the road towards impeachment.
"Almost without exception they [MPs] are dissatisfied with the response," said Kwik Kian Gie, deputy chairman of the powerful Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
The party is led by Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, widely thought to want the top job if she can get it legally and without plunging the country deeper into crisis.
The comments by Mr Kwik, who was Mr Wahid's chief economics minister until he quit in August, follow warnings in the local media that Indonesia is set for more upheaval.
The Jakarta Post summed up the sentiment of many across the blighted country in an editorial entitled "What Next?" It said Mr Wahid had either missed or chosen to ignore the point that he no longer had the support of most members of Parliament.
The censure is the biggest threat to Mr Wahid's rocky rule, which has failed to pull Indonesia out of a prolonged and often violent crisis that has left the economy in tatters and several of the country's ethnic groups at each other's throats.
Mr Wahid's future rests largely with Ms Megawati, whom he edged out in Indonesia's first contested presidential race in 1999.
Asked if Mr Wahid could escape eventual impeachment, Mr Kwik said: "I don't think so ... appeals [for him to improve his rule] have been made for so long, but he doesn't change." The only way would be if Mr Wahid's supporters cowed his opponents with mass and violent protests, he said.
But political analysts say there are growing concerns in the PDI-P that if Mr Wahid steps down before his term ends in 2004 – many predict he will be out by August – Ms Megawati would inherit a poisoned chalice. The PDI-P has the largest block of seats in Parliament, but far from enough to form a government alone.
Mr Kwik said for the sake of the country, Ms Megawati should step in.
Amien Rais, Mr Wahid's toughest critic and head of the top legislative body, the People's Consultative Assembly, said the second censure was a foregone conclusion.