Parliament Censures Wahid Again

President Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesia’s erratic leader, was censured by parliament Monday for the second time, paving the way for his possible impeachment and removal from office.

By a vote of 363 to 52, parliament approved a motion censuring Gus Dur, as the president is popularly known, for his role in two graft scandals. The move could lead to his ouster by August.

“Gus Dur’s political legitimacy, social legitimacy and moral legitimacy have run out,” said Deputy Speaker Andi Mappetahang Fatwa, a member of the opposition National Mandate Party. “Gus Dur is no longer fit to lead this country.”

Wahid, a nearly blind Muslim cleric, is a savvy behind-the-scenes operator who has managed to hang on to power for 18 months as the country has lurched from crisis to crisis.

He had warned of a “national rebellion” by his supporters if parliament continued to push for his ouster. Some of his backers said they would storm the parliament building. More than 60,000 signed pledges saying they were willing to die on his behalf, and hundreds trained at special military camps in East Java.

But only about 15,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Jakarta on Monday, staging a largely peaceful, if noisy, protest. More than 40,000 police were on standby.

The lopsided parliamentary vote demonstrates how isolated Wahid has become.

Before becoming president, he was the popular and respected head of Nahdlatul Ulama, the world’s largest Muslim organization, with 30 million members in Indonesia.

Parliament accuses him of involvement in the theft of $4.1 million from a government agency by people claiming to act on his behalf, including his masseur. The masseur has been arrested.

The lawmakers also charged that the president did not properly report a $2-million gift from the sultan of Brunei that was intended as aid for residents of beleaguered Aceh province.

There was no conclusive evidence in the parliamentary report that Wahid profited personally from the money.

The amount pales in comparison to the billions of dollars allegedly siphoned off by former President Suharto and his cronies before the dictator was forced to step down in 1998.

But Wahid has been unable to provide leadership, revive the staggering economy or restore order.

Corruption is rampant, the military is ineffective and justice is often absent from the courts. In recent months, Indonesia has been faced with separatist fighting in Aceh, religious warfare in the Moluccas and ethnic slaughter in Borneo. Multiple killings are reported daily in the outlying provinces.

Although the economy showed signs of recovery earlier this year, the political turmoil is causing great concern among investors. Last week, the rupiah dropped to 12,000 to the dollar, its lowest level since September 1998.

Wahid has taken many official trips abroad, occasionally blaming the media for exaggerating the country’s difficulties while he visits distant lands.

On Friday, Wahid defended himself in a rare nationally televised speech. He suggested that it is too much to expect a president to turn the country around rapidly after decades of dictatorial rule by Suharto and his cronies.

“Don’t be too hasty in judging me and trying to oust me,” Wahid said. “Even if this state replaces its president 100 times, there is no one who can solve its problems quickly.”

Wahid has rejected many requests to step down, hoping to rescue his presidency as the cumbersome impeachment process grinds along.

Under the constitution, parliament can consider removing the head of state only after it votes twice to censure him, and the two votes must occur at least a month apart. Then lawmakers must wait another month before they can vote to convene the People’s Consultative Assembly, an expanded parliamentary body that has the power to remove the president and select his successor. The earliest the People’s Consultative Assembly could convene would be August.

It was the People’s Consultative Assembly that chose Wahid as president in 1999 over front-runner Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of former President Sukarno. She settled for vice president and would succeed Wahid if he stepped down.

Although she and Wahid are longtime friends, her party joined in voting to censure the president. Only Wahid’s National Awakening Party and the small Love the Nation Party backed the president.

Parliament’s 38-member military party abstained. Members said they did not want to give the appearance that the armed forces were attempting to oust the president.

Some of Wahid’s foes say he could keep his job if he improved his performance.

“What is important is whether Gus Dur can fulfill his job well in the next month, showing tolerance, not making any controversial statements and not going overseas too many times,” said parliamentary deputy Eki Syachrudin of Golkar, the former ruling party.

“If the president shows his intention to be a good leader and a good manager, and has the ability to invite trust from overseas inventors, then why not?” he asked. “Why don’t we give him another chance?”

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Sari Sudarsono of The Times’ Jakarta Bureau contributed to this report.