Reuters in Jakarta – Indonesia's biggest political party has backed away from efforts to bring forward an impeachment hearing against embattled President Abdurrahman Wahid, local media reported on Wednesday.

Some MPs in the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) of Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri had said the impoverished country was too volatile to wait until the August 1 impeachment session, the date originally planned.

But the party had since decided there was no firm constitutional basis for speeding up the hearing, called to consider Mr Wahid's ouster over two financial scandals and his erratic 20-month rule, the Jakarta Post newspaper reported.

That follows a decision by other parties to rule out trying to accelerate the session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), which gives Mr Wahid just over a month to try and wriggle out of the crisis over his faltering leadership. "We are sticking to the original schedule of August 1," the Post quoted Roy Janis, deputy chairman of the party, as saying.

The supreme MPR is likely to oust Indonesia's first democratically elected leader when it meets in August unless Mr Wahid can strike a political compromise. But that depends on Ms Megawati, who has been increasingly cool toward her erstwhile friend and mistrustful of his offers to share power.

Both are expected to visit East Java on Wednesday to take part in events marking the death of founding President Sukarno, Ms Megawati's charismatic father.