Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri has turned up the heat on Attorney-General M.A. Rachman by asking him to resign in the face of allegations of concealing his personal assets from state auditors.

But it is likely to take more than persuasion to make the controversial Attorney-General, who insisted he had done nothing wrong, vacate his coveted post.

And sources at Mrs Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) said the President is not likely to sack him until he had been proven guilty of graft.

Mr Rachman has been found to have billions of rupiah worth of property and cash that he failed to report to the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN).

He told the commission last week that the house, bought in 1999, had been given to his daughter who later sold it to a businessman for far below its market price. He also claimed that the 546.6 million rupiah and US$30,000 worth of cash in his accounts came from businessmen who sought his legal advice years back.

President Megawati summoned him on Monday night, the second time since the case emerged. PDI-P sources said he was asked to resign. But he refused to do so, saying the commission's probe was still ongoing. The commission is to submit a recommendation to the President after its investigation.

Meanwhile, several names have already cropped up as his possible successor. PDI-P legislators have recommended a list of names, which includes human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, legal expert Ahmad Ali, and one of Mr Rachman's deputies, Mr Basrief Arief.

They are among the legislators most eager to replace Mr Rachman, who they believe is tainting Megawati's administration. Legislator J.E. Sahetapy said the Attorney-General's resignation would "save the institution".

National Assembly Speaker Amien Rais echoed the demand saying: "The Attorney-General's position is a crucial and strategic position in the battle against corruption." The Straits Times understands party officials raised the issue in a PDI-P executive meeting yesterday.

But the conspicuous absence of party chairman Megawati in yesterday's meeting disappointed some party officials. Said a Straits Times source in the party: "We wanted to let her know that it is in her interest to let go of him, but that is probably why she skipped the meeting." But as it would be hard to persuade the President to sack Mr Rachman, moves are afoot within Parliament to push for his resignation.

Yesterday, legislators from several factions called on him to resign from his post, arguing that he had committed public deception.

A parliamentarian said: "The PDI-P legislators are aware that Megawati is not keen on removing people from her administration for fear of being seen as having made the wrong decision, so now they are pushing for him to quit." Yet many are pessimistic that Mr Rachman, the career public prosecutor, could be persuaded to leave his post, given the previous controversies around Parliamentarian Speaker Akbar Tandjung.

Mr Akbar has defied calls for him to resign because of his graft conviction. But analysts said the President should fire Mr Rachman to prove to an increasingly sceptical public that she was doing something to fight graft.