Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's political crisis was close to spinning out of control last night after an increasingly isolated President Wahid, desperate to fend off impeachment, sacked four ministers.
The shock Cabinet reshuffle was partly designed to appease his Vice-President, Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri. Mr Wahid also made the country's police chief, General Bimantoro, "non-active", prompting new speculation that he intends to carry out his threat to declare a state of emergency. However, General Bimantoro, who has openly rejected Mr Wahid's emergency plan to block impeachment in August, has refused to resign unless the parliament agrees.
A presidential spokesman, Mr Yahya Staquf, said: "These changes are intended to improve the effectiveness and co-ordination of the running of the Government." Mr Wahid replaced the senior Security Minister, Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, with the Transport Minister, Mr Agum Gumelar, who is highly regarded by Ms Megawati.
In 1996, Mr Gumelar, a former senior army officer, was transferred from his post with the special forces by the former dictator Suharto for helping Ms Megawati's political ambitions. Mr Wahid wants Ms Megawati to agree to a compromise that would see her run the Government while he becomes a figurehead president. Ms Megawati is believed to be considering this offer.
Analysts say that after Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to begin impeachment proceedings against Mr Wahid, striking a deal with Ms Megawati appears to be his only hope of avoiding this at a special session on August 1.
Earlier yesterday Mr Wahid vowed to fight impeachment, warning that he would take "firm action" to protect the country. The reshuffling of the six Cabinet posts became known last night as speculation mounted that other ministers were about to quit. A palace source said Mr Wahid sacked Mr Yudhoyono because he had failed to solve the deadlock with Ms Megawati.
He openly broken ranks with Mr Wahid on Wednesday when he told the President that he opposed a state of emergency. Mr Yudhoyono, a retired general, has maintained good relations with the armed forces commanders, who have also resisted declaration of an emergency.
Mr Wahid also sacked the Attorney-General, Mr Marzuki Darusman, a member of Golkar, the party that protected Mr Suharto during his corrupt rule. The President is believed to have been gunning for Mr Darsuman over his failure to prosecute Suharto-era figures. He replaced Mr Darusman with the Minister for Justice, Mr Lopa Barharudin, who now has the job of reforming the corrupt legal system. The Cabinet Secretary, Mr Marsilam Simanjuntak, will replace Mr Barharudin.
The Maritime and Fisheries Minister, Mr Sarwono Kasumaatmaja, was also sacked, replaced by an official of his department, Mr Rohmin Dahuri. As the crisis has enveloped Mr Wahid, Mr Sarwono has become a vocal critic of the President.
Earlier, the Defence Minister, Mr Mohammad Mahfud, delivered a serious blow to Mr Wahid when he said that he would resign if he carried out his threat to declare an emergency. "I would propose finding a new defence minister who has the heart and the strength to carry out repressive action, because a decree would require that kind of person, not someone like me," he said.
Mr Mahfud has been one of Mr Wahid's closest confidants during the crisis that threatens to provoke widespread unrest. "If a decree [declaring an emergency] is going to be issued ... it must be accompanied by changes of officials who are loyal and brave, brave enough to take stern and tough action," he said. "I do not know the anatomy and the psychology of the military." But Mr Mahfud said there was a 50-50 chance that Mr Wahid could survive any impeachment moves.
Mr Wahid, meanwhile, told a prayer session that he had set a deadline of next Friday before taking his next action, but did not say what that would be. In a speech in East Java, Ms Megawati warned that security and economic failures had been responsible for the downfall of successive Indonesian governments.