Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Indonesia will face mass violence "worse than the riots in 1998" if President Abdurrahman Wahid is impeached, Parliamentary Speaker Akbar Tandjung has warned.

On the move by the lawmakers to oust him, he said: "They want him out at all cost. But I have asked them to reconsider because it is very risky to force him out even if we do it by the book.

"We have seen what his fanatical supporters are capable of doing in East Java. I am not exaggerating to say that there will be widespread violence in the country if we overthrow him.

"It will be worse than the riots in 1998. That is why I think a political compromise needs to be worked out now to prevent Indonesia sliding down towards anarchy," he told The Straits Times. "It is the best solution."