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Wahid considers cabinet change
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INDONESIAN President Abdurrahman Wahid may reshape his Cabinet in the hope of staving off impeachment, a senior aide said on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said changing the ministerial lineup “makes sense,” but added that Wahid had yet to decide.
Opponents quickly poured scorn on the proposal, saying Wahid should either hand over most of his powers to his popular deputy or simply resign.
News reports say a team of political advisers want Wahid to recruit new ministers from the ranks of a party headed by Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, his main rival.
The party is the biggest in the parliament and has been leading the charge against Wahid. Unless he can win back its support, he has virtually no chance of surviving politically for more than a few months.
Giving Megawati's bloc more power is seen as one way to end the campaign against Wahid, who came to power 18 months ago as Indonesia's first freely elected leader after four decades of dictatorship.
However, it is unclear whether it will be a viable solution to Wahid's troubles. Megawati has not commented on the idea and some of her aides have said she opposes it.
“A reshuffle would be useless and a naive move,” said Sutardjo Suryoguritmo, a senior member of her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.
On Monday, parliament overwhelmingly censured Wahid over two corruption scandals and accused him of incompetence. It was its second formal rebuke of the president this year and it opened the way for his possible impeachment.(SD-Agencies)
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