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Wahid Plays New Cards In Survival Bid
by Kazi Mahmood
KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 (IslamOnline) - Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri on Wednesday held a breakfast meeting at the latter's official residence in Jakarta.
The aim of the informal meeting was to strike a chord between Wahid and his vice president. The two leaders discussed the latest political developments in a meeting that lasted almost 90 minutes.
The meeting came after a second censure memorandum issued to Wahid by the House of Representatives (DPR), a step ahead in his ouster that is now much expected by observers in Jakarta.
Observers say Wahid is now using his last cards in a bid to ensure his survival as president of the largest Muslim nation on earth, saying he has realized that he is really in the "ejection" seat now.
The House last Monday issued Wahid a second memorandum for failing to heed the first. The second memorandum, which gives him one month to improve his government's performance, is likely to lead to his impeachment.
Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he and several ministers met with Wahid Tuesday to discuss the second parliamentary censure issued on Monday.
Yudhoyono said that during the meeting, the ministers gave advice and recommendations to the president on what further steps should be taken in response to the DPR rebuke.
"Surely, [the advice and recommendations] were very constructive and we all gave the president the background and analysis [of the situation], as well as [our] opinions," Yudhoyono told the press after their meeting at the State Palace Tuesday.
Yudhoyono said the president was now studying what the ministers had conveyed, and that he would soon decide on what steps to take following the second censure.
Reports confirmed, however, that Wahid on Tuesday was desperately looking for ways to strike a deal with his political rivals in power, as he dug in his heels to fight off attempts to topple him.
His closest aids say resignation is the last thing on his mind, since he continues to insist that the censure was not constitutional, and that it was his right to serve his term until 2004.
Wahid is still thinking of the last resort, which to him revolves around power sharing with Megawati.
Wahid wanted to have "a heart-to-heart talk" with Megawati so that she would support him until 2004. In return, he would form a new cabinet and allow her to run the day-to-day government, while he remained as a state head, the Singapore Straits Times wrote.
However, IslamOnline has information that Megawati is not interested in any power sharing deal in which Wahid could overrun her decisions and impose his final will.
Megawati did not participate in a Sunday mass prayer and was absent when her party was leading the debate in the House on the issuance of the second censure.
She claimed flu prevented her from public appearances until today. Her party's vote against Wahid might be the ultimate in the balance of powers against Wahid, observers said.
Wahid, for his part, refused to comment on whether he would quit in the wake of the censure, but said he would "make a statement in one or two days".
It is clear, however, that he will not accept the memorandum.
"I could not accept the second memorandum because it comes across as a judgment on the performance of the government, and therefore, without substance," local media reports Tuesday quoted him.
But with a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) looming, his party was pushing for a deal to be worked out with opponents.
PKB chairman Matori Abdul Jalil said there was enough time for Wahid to talk to opposing political leaders to find a solution.
The opposition is in no mood to talk, however. Parliamentary Speaker Akbar Tandjung said Tuesday that it was impossible for Wahid to stay on.
"I don't know what the President can do about it, but theoretically, it is hopeless," he told reporters.
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