Wahid ignores parliament censure

President Wahid did mention his latest slap in the face

By Richard Galpin in Jakarta

The Indonesian president, Abdurrahman Wahid, has made an address to the nation in the wake of a second censure motion against him being passed by parliament.

The president called on parliament and other branches of the government to work together to pull the country out of its current political and economic crisis.

But he did not give any indication of how he would respond to the censure itself, which concerns allegations of corruption made against him.

There had been much speculation about this speech, which comes just two days after the president suffered what could be a fatal blow to his political career.

Precarious position

The passing of the second censure motion by an overwhelming majority of MPs on Monday has brought the possibility of impeachment much closer.

Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the censure

Mr Wahid's position is looking extremely precarious and some opposition politicians have called on him to resign as soon as possible.

But in the speech broadcast on television and radio, the president did not even mention the censure motion.

Instead, he thanked parliament for helping ensure that the government stuck to the constitution.

He also thanked the security forces for preventing any trouble during the rally of his supporters in the capital on Sunday.

But he also appeared to criticise members of parliament for failing to focus on their main duty, the passing of bills into law.

Working together

Mr Wahid said there are currently 150 bills which have not yet been dealt with.

But at the end of his speech, the president called on political leaders to work together, in particular to promote economic recovery.

This, he said, would enable Indonesia to take its proper place within the international community.