Susan Sim, Jakarta – Do not say anything, just focus on the G-15 meeting and your new grandson – that is the advice key Cabinet ministers are giving the President the day after impeachment became an inescapable reality.
And there would certainly be no martial law decree, at least not for the next two days, one of them told The Straits Times. And definitely not while there is still room for compromise, another said, bandying two phrases: "Cabinet reshuffle" and "Airing of Golkar skeletons".
Are the enemies of President Abdurrahman Wahid worried that victory might slip away if he manages to pull off the impossible by buying off some parties? No, lawmakers are so pleased the end game is now in play, some are taking the rest of the week off.
Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) chief Arifin Panigoro, who controls the largest bloc in Parliament, told The Straits Times: "We're past one milestone, and heading towards another. There's much to be done in the next two months – the special session to prepare for, the programme and shape of the next government. But right now, I'm just going to relax this week and go to Jamz tonight," he said, referring to one of the hottest jazz clubs in town.
As observers here and abroad worry that the degree of stagnation in Indonesia will increase as everyone plays the waiting game, there is no sign that any of Mr Abdurrahman's advisers will tell him that the end is inevitable.
"I feel very bad for him. How can they humiliate him like this?" one Cabinet minister said. "He feels he's not acted against the Constitution or done anything wrong. And I don't think he has either.
"Yes, he's outspoken and he's not perfect. He's blind. But Parliament can't just twist the procedures to impeach him. If politicians don't obey the law, then what sort of democracy is this?" So a key option that the President's advisers are still pushing is the legal challenge. Parliament's first censure was based on two financial scandals which lawmakers said they had "reason to suspect" the President's involvement in.
But with the finding by the Attorney-General late Monday night that there was no proof of his complicity, that censure has no legal basis. Parliament cannot impeach a President because it has reason to suspect he might be corrupt.
But Parliament is a political body and this is about politics, not the law. Well then, as some of Mr Abdurrahman's advisers, including Justice Minister Baharrudin Lopa, still argue, Parliament is exceeding its constitutional role because this is a presidential system.
Mr Abdurrahman therefore has the right to shut it down, declare a state of emergency and hold new elections in six months. Mr Abdurrahman seized this idea readily several weeks ago, Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman told The Straits Times recently. It took the entire Cabinet and the military top brass to persuade him that it was not feasible. Even now, none of them are too sure he has given up on it.
Another game plan Mr Abdurrahman is still exploring is to entice or blackmail the old regime parties – Suharto's Golkar and the United Development Front (PPP), the old political front for his Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic movement – to his side. "You think Akbar Tanjung cannot be implicated if the government opens up some of the old corruption cases?" the minister asked, referring to the Golkar chief.
Another line of attack could also be opened up against Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the PDI-P boss, herself. Since the second parliamentary censure was for the poor performance of the government, she should also shoulder some responsibility.
After all, Mr Abdurrahman stopped "interfering" with the work of ministers two months ago and left her to chair all the policy coordination meetings, the minister said. No problem, the PDI-P had anticipated all these scenarios, Mr Arifin said.
"Cabinet reshuffle? No one will bite. The problem isn't the ministers. It's the President himself." As for a head-on attack against Ms Megawati, he said the PDI-P had spoken to 80 per cent of lawmakers and felt they would close ranks around her. Still, another PDI-P leader, Mr Kwik Kian Gie, was hosting an inter-party caucus last night to ensure everyone knew that a Megawati government would be all-inclusive and the spoils would be shared with all the other parties, another PDI-P source said.
The parties have been locked in talks for two months now and everyone accepts that whoever takes over as president must have a national coalition backing him or her, with no opposition in Parliament, because Indonesia's problems are immense.
The horse-trading had not started yet, because the PDI-P wanted a consensus on a national platform first, he said. But when it did, all the parties, including Mr Abdurrahman's National Awakening Party, would be invited to name real representatives with professional qualifications.