Abdurrahman's speech

On the surface of it, President Abdurrahman Wahid's anxiously awaited televised response -- if indeed it can be called a response -- to the House of Representatives' motion of censure passed on Monday could be regarded as conciliatory in tone. The President expressed his gratitude to all the parties involved in the events of the past few days, and the House of Representatives (DPR) in particular "for restoring the government to its proper position as stipulated by the Constitution".

Abdurrahman also expressed his appreciation of all the state's security personnel and the Indonesian Military for having maintained public order and the participants in Sunday's istighotsah mass prayer for their orderly behavior during the gathering, which he said was a token of their "mature attitude and leaning". The President also did not forget to thank the executive and judiciary branches of government for having suitably performed their duties "to run the government, especially to improve conditions and uphold the values laid down in the Constitution".

"Let us therefore together undertake (the country's) development in every aspect and work, in particular, toward our country's economic revival in order that Indonesia may become a great and triumphant nation, one that is respected by other nations of the world as befits the size of its population and territory," Abdurrahman said, concluding his speech which took only about five minutes to deliver.

So far, so good. What leaves Indonesians more than just a little nervous and could potentially send the world of business and investment tumbling even further, though, is what was left unsaid or thinly hidden between the lines.

Not one word was said about the House of Representatives' motion of censure -- a clear snub of the national legislature, who Abdurrahman has repeatedly said has no authority to pass judgment on his performance as chief executive and whose motion is therefore unconstitutional. The President instead chided the legislature for failing to attend to its own duties, such as passing legislation.

"The DPR and the MPR (People's Consultative Assembly) have no light duties to perform. For the DPR (this includes) passing legislation or drafting laws, 160 of which are still in the DPR's hands and are waiting to be finalized," Abdurrahman said.

Only a day earlier, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung emphasized that with the House having passed its motion, everything now depended on how the President would respond, but he questioned whether the President could significantly improve his performance in just a month's time. Quite clearly, Abdurrahman's response -- again, if this is his response to the DPR's motion of censure -- can be expected to antagonize the majority of legislators in the DPR.

What that is likely to mean is that the House will call on the MPR to convene a special session, which could -- but may not necessarily -- lead to President Abdurrahman Wahid's impeachment. With Abdurrahman continuing to refuse to resign, a much more elegant solution to the country's leadership problem would be for all the parties involved to work out a real power-sharing scheme, with President Abdurrahman Wahid staying on as head of state and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri taking the position of head of government. Unfortunately, chances are slim that such a formula can be worked out.

Still, events that are taking place at present in the Philippines warn us that stubborn persistence on the part of our political parties to stick to their respective points of view could lead the nation into more trouble than it is prepared to suffer. Under such circumstances, working toward a compromise that is acceptable to all still seems to be the best way out. In any case, with an impasse looming as a real possibility, practically all that is left for Indonesians to do is to continue to wait and see how things will work out and hope that good reason will prevail among all those who hold the well-being of the nation in the palms of their hands.