Word: wahid
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...neither case has it been proven that Wahid pocketed the missing funds, but his refusal to kowtow before parliament has cost him. Says Nurcholish Majid, a respected Muslim scholar and long-time Wahid associate: "He doesn't believe he's done anything wrong, and he'll use whatever he has for his defense...
...Wahid's options are narrowing fast. On Thursday, while parliament was voting 393 to 4 to censure him, Wahid at first tried relaxing to a tape recording of U.S. President Harry Truman's biography. "He identifies with Truman," says one palace insider. "Truman said his support came from the silent majority." But in Indonesia, the silent majority doesn't count nearly as much as the military. So Wahid hastily summoned his Defense Minister, his security adviser and the chiefs of the armed services for a meeting at the palace. The President discussed various options for maintaining order, including declaring martial...
Whatever the truth, Wahid probably cannot count on the military to back him in his tussle. During the crucial Thursday vote, the 38 military and police delegates in parliament went along with the warning motion. The vote, say military analysts, indicates that the armed forces are growing impatient with Wahid. They criticize his indecisive handling of secessionst uprisings in Aceh and Irian Jaya and of the fighting between Muslims and Christians in the Maluku islands, which has claimed more than 4,000 lives in the past two years...
With or without close military support, Wahid also needs to woo back Megawati Sukarnoputri, his Vice President and leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. A populist and daughter of Sukarno, the country's first leader after independence, Megawati, 54, considers Wahid to be a longtime friend. She even whips up breakfast every Wednesday for him. The President insists that Megawati still supports him, but her party certainly does not. Diplomats in Jakarta say that her party satraps are not alone in telling Megawati she must turn against Wahid; the generals also are pledging their loyalty...
...fallback, Wahid may try to mobilize his Muslim supporters. His party ranks only fourth in parliament?behind both Megawati's group and Golkar, the former ruling party of Suharto?but as leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim religious organization, Wahid can count on more than 40 million followers, mainly in Java. The clergymen within the organization are already preparing the faithful for Wahid's hard times. In mid-December, when Wahid's troubles were mounting, 40 clerics told their congregations they had all shared a prophetic dream: Wahid was sitting atop a coconut tree in a storm...